./  be 


vtlk 


A.NJ,  / 


J  EJ>  POEMS 


'o  THB       IBRARY    OF 


UNIVERSITY    OF   CALIFORNIA 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 


DR.    E.    A.   STURGE. 


SPIRIT  OF  JAPAN 


WITH  SELECTED  POEMS 
AND  ADDRESSES 


OF 


ERNEST  ADOLPHUS  STURGE,  M.  D.,  PH.  D. 

Missionary  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  to  the 
Japanese  in  California 

With  Introduction  by 

REV.  HENRY  COLLIN  MINTON,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

Ex-Moderator  of  General  Assembly  of 
Presbyterian  Church,  U.  S.  A. 


EDITED  BY  THE  COMMITTEE 

under  the  auspices  of  Members  of  the 

PR^BYTERIAN  JAPANESE  MISSIONS  ON  THE  COAST 

HEADQUARTERS 

121  Haight  Street,  San  Francisco,  California 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1903 

BY  J.  K.  INAZAWA 
In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


Introduction,  by  Rev.  H.  C.  Minton,  D.D. ;  L.L.D 9 

Preface,  by  Mr.  K.  Tosawa,  L.L.B 13 

Brief  Sketch  of  the  Life  of  Ernest  A.  Sturge,  Ph.D.;  M.  D. .     15 


PART    I. 

SELECTED  POEMS. 

The  Author's  Prayer 23 

One  String  and  Paganini 24 

Doubt  and  Faith 25 

Copying  the  Master 26 

Care 28 

The  Peace  of  Christ 29 

Hope 30 

Love  30 

The  Divine  Weaver 31 

Peace 31 

Love  Abides 32 

The  Language  of  Love 33 

The  Bible 34 

The  Gospel  Mine 35 

To  Rev.  M.  C.  Harris,  D.D 36 

Better  Than  Gold 37 

Golden  Words 38 

Bellicose  Bells  in  England 39 

Our  Shield 40 

The  Great  Physician 41 

Jesus  Saw  the  Signal 42 

Intolerance   44 

Thoughts  for  the  New  Year 45 

A  Clean  Record 46 

The  Hidden  Future 46 


4  TH£   SPIRIT   OF  JAPAN. 

PART    II. 

THE  SPIRIT  OF  JAPAN. 

The  Spirit  of  Yamato 49 

The  Creation  of  Japan 50 

Match-Making 51 

The  Birth  of  the  Gods 52 

The  Pouting  Sun-Goddess 54 

An  Afternoon  Tea  for  Men 55 

The  Thunder  God 56 

Masamune's  Swords 56 

The  Samurai's  Children 58 

The  Wind  God 60 

A  Japanese  Nobleman's  Dream 60 

Susano  Kills  the  Dragon 62 

Japanese  Dreams  of  the  Home  Land 63 

The  Emperor's  Three  Treasures 64 

Japanese  Art 65 

The  Emperor's  Birthday >. 66 

Earthquakes  67 

Nature  Worship 67 

Japanese  Wall  Decorations 68 

The  Seventh  Night 69 

JAPANESE  FAVORITE  FLOWERS,  TREES  AND    BIRDS 

The  Plum 70 

The  Lotus 7* 

Morning-Glories   72 

The  Chrysanthemum 73 

The  Cherry 74 

The  Bamboo 75 

The  Pine 76 

The  Nightingale 77 

The  Lark 78 

The  Swallow 79 

The  Hotofogisu 80 

The  Crane 81 

The  Pomegranate 82 

The  Willow 83 

Our  Attitude 83 

Reverence  for  Age 84 


CONTENTS  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  5 

PART    III. 

SONGS  OF  THE  SUNRISE  KINGDOM. 

Urashima  87 

The  Prize  Poem Qi 

The  Farmer  and  the  Looking  Glass 92 

Daruma   94 

Quid  Pro  Quo 95 

Araki,  the  Fencer 96 

The  Three  Travelers 99 

Ikkyu,  the  Buddhist  Sage 103 

A  Japanese  Belle 104 

Adventures  of  Hayakawa 105 

Kano,  the  Lightning  Artist 108 

The  Magic  Fans 109 

Sayonara  112 


PART    IV. 

ADDRESSES,  LETTERS,  ETC. 

Nature's  Teaching  About  God 115 

Conclusion,  by  Rev.  Joseph  K.  Inazawa 126 

An  Appreciation,  by  Hon.  K.  Uyeno 129 

His   Imperial   Japanese   Majesty's   Consul,    San    Fran 
cisco,  Cal. 

A  Tribute  to  Dr.  Sturge,  by  Rev.  M.  C  Harris,  D.D 131 

Superintendent  of   Japanese   Methodist   Mission   on 
Pacific  Coast. 

A  Letter.     From  Rev.  A.  J.  Brown,  D.D 133 

Secretary  of  Presbyterian  F.   M.  B.,   New  York. 

A  Plea.     To  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Sturge 135 

In  the  name  of  the  Japanese,   by  Mrs.  M.  C.  Harris. 

A  Colleague's  Appreciation,  by  Rev.  I.  M.  Condit,  D.D 136 

Missionary  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  to  the   Chinese 
in  California. 

Personal  Estimate  of  the  Author,  by  Rev.  F.  Matsunaga 138 

Pastor,   Nihonbashi  Church,   Tokio,   Japan. 


6  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

ILLUSTRATIONS,  PORTRAITS,  Etc. 

Dr.  E.  A.  Sturge Frontispiece 

Mrs.  E.  A.  Sturge Page    12 

Mrs.  C.  H.  Sturge  and  Mr.  Adolphus  Sturge "  14 

Home  of  Doctor's  Childhood,  Medical  Department  of  Uni 
versity  of  Pennsylvania,  Missionary  Cottage,  Siam.. .  "  16 

Group  of  Japanese  Mission  Homes  in  California "  18 

The  Spirit  of  Yamato  (in  colors) "  48 

The  Birth  of  the  Gods "  50 

The  Pouting  Sun  Goddess  (in  colors) "  54 

The  Thunder  God "  56 

Masamune's   Swords "  58 

The  Wind  God "  60 

Susano  Kills  the  Dragon "  62 

The  Emperor's  Three  Treasures "  64 

The  Emperor's  Birthday  (in  colors) 66 

Earthquakes  "  68 

Japanese  Wall  Decorations 70 

The  Seventh  Night "  72 

Reverence  for  Age 84 

Urashima "  86 

Daruma  "  92 

Araki,  the  Fencer 94 

Ikkyu,  the  Buddhist  Sage "  102 

A  Japanese  Belle "  104 

Kano,  the  Lightning  Artist "  106 

Sayonara  "  112 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Sturge  and  Other  Japanese  Missionaries. ..  "  114 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Sturge,  with  Assistant  Workers "  124 

Group  Portrait  of  Prominent  Japanese  Mission  Workers.  "  128 

Group  Portrait  of  Zealous  Workers "  130 

Japanese  Mission  Homes  in  California "  138 


THIS  LITTLE  VOLUME  IS  DEDICATED  TO 

MRS.  C.  H.  STURGE, 

THE  BELOVED  MOTHER  OF  OUR  DEAR  DOCTOR, 

BY 

ADMIRING   FRIENDS. 


PRESS    OF 

K.  S.  CROCKER  COMPANY 

SAN    FRANCISCO    CAL 


INTRODUCTION 


1HE  desire  for  some  permanent  token  of  recognition 
on  the  occasion  of  the  fifteenth  anniversary  of  the 
work  of  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Sturge  is  characteristic 
ally  Japanese  in  this,  that  it  is  both  grateful  and  very 
graceful.  And,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  both  appropriate 
and  worthily  directed.  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Sturge  have  the 
affectionate  esteem  of  all  who  know  them,  both  for  their 
worth's  sake  and  for  their  works.'  There  is  no  more  in 
teresting  missionary  work  on  this  continent  than  that 
which  has  been  quietly  but  efficiently  carried  on  all  these 
years  among  the  Japanese  community  in  San  Francisco. 
The  conditions  are  unique.  It  is  work  at  home  in  the 
interest  of  a  foreign  people.  No  country  made  history 
more  rapidly  during  the  last  third  of  the  nineteenth  cen 
tury  than  did  the  Sunrise  Kingdom.  The  hour  struck 
for  the  Nippon  of  the  past  and  the  new  Japan  came  forth 
almost  in  a  day.  The  fear  has  not  been  that  it  should 
not  move  fast  enough  but  that  it  should  move  too  fast. 

The  Japanese  are  to  the  Chinese  in  Asia  largely  what 
the  French  are  to  the  English  in  Europe.  There  are 
elements  of  strength  and  stability  in  the  conservative 
Chinese  character  which  one  will  look  for  in  vain  in 


10  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

Japan.  And  this  mercurial  trait  of  the  Japanese  char 
acter  has  not  failed  to  reflect  itself  in  the  annals  of  modern 
missionary  work  in  Japan.  It  has  been  a  series  of  ad 
vances  and  repulses,  of  actions  and  reactions.  Fifteen 
years  ago  Japan  was  one  of  the  most  encouragingly  re 
sponsive  countries  open  to  the  choice  of  the  Christian 
missionary;  a  half  dozen  years  ago  it  was  in  the  trough 
of  the  sea,  and  Japan,  with  its  intellectual  hauteur  and 
reactionary  anti-supernaturalism,  was  forbidding  and  al 
most  hostile  to  evangelical  effort;  while  at  the  present 
moment,  after  the  far-sweeping  and  wonderful  Pentecost- 
like  evangelical  revival  which  in  that  country  signalized 
the  ushering  in  of  the  new  century,  it  is  the  richest  and 
most  fruitful  soil  in  all  the  east,  if  not  in  all  the  world. 

These  successions  of  ebb  and  flow  have  swept  eastward 
across  the  broad  Pacific  and  have  not  been  unfelt  in  mis 
sionary  work  among  the  Japanese  at  the  Golden  Gate. 
But  through  them  all  this  work  in  San  Francisco,  under 
the  consecrated  leadership  of  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Sturge,  has 
held  right  on  to  its  course. 

It  has  sent  to  the  theological  seminary  across  the  bay 
a  number  of  its  most  eager  and  devoted  students,  and 
these  are  to-day  doing  noble  work  for  Christ  in  the  work 
of  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel.  In  the  class  of  1891  were 
Messrs.  Hattori  and  Mitani,  the  former  now  at  work  in 
his  native  land  and  the  latter  among  his  countrymen  in 
the  Hawaiian  Islands;  in  1894,  Mr.  Inazawa,  the  author 
of  this  book  and  the  diligent  and  earnest  missionary  to 


INTRODUCTION.  1 1 

his  countrymen  in  the  south-bay  counties  of  California, 
and  Mr.  Okuno,  son  of  the  pioneer  Moody  of  early  Japan 
ese  missions  and  himself  a  Christian  gentleman  of  fine 
spiritual  attainments,  who  came  to  an  early  death  soon 
after  his  graduation;  in  1895,  Dr.  Hoshino,  who,  after 
leaving  the  seminary,  completed  a  course  at  the  Cooper 
Medical  Institute  in  San  Francisco,  and  is  now  exerting 
a  strong  Christian  influence  in  the  city  of  Yokohama ;  and 
in  1901,  Mr.  Sakabe,  who  is  doing  a  very  useful  work  in 
charge  of  an  adjunct  mission  in  San  Francisco.  Cer 
tainly  these  are  enough  to  show  that,  in  connection  with 
many  other  sides  of  his  work,  Dr.  Sturge  has  been  con 
ducting  a  sort  of  preparatory  school  from  which  have 
come  out  a  goodly  number  of  ministers  of  the  Gospel  who 
are  destined  to  multiply  his  godly  influence  on  two  con 
tinents  for  the  years  that  are  to  come. 

No  one  can  have  visited  Japan,  with  its  lovely  land 
scapes  and  dainty  cherry  blossoms  and  magnificent  Budd 
hist  temples  and  sequestered  Shinto  shrines,  without 
ever  afterwards  having  the  deepest  interest  in  the  future 
of  that  almost  fairyland  of  the  east ;  and  no  one  can  have 
come  into  close  contact,  as  the  writer  of  this  has  done, 
with  the  Japanese  character,  with  its  picturesque  naivite 
and  ceremonial  politeness  and  charming  gentleness  of 
manners,  without  having  that  interest  greatly  deepened 
and  enhanced.  Dr.  Sturge's  work  only  needs  to  be  bet 
ter  known  to  the  Christian  people  of  our  own  churches 
in  order  that  it  may  be  more  highly  appreciated  by  them. 


12  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

His  work  is  not  so  much  for  to-day  as  for  to-morrow ; 
not  so  much  directly  for  the  few  thousand  Japanese  peo 
ple  in  California  now  as  indirectly  for  the  millions  of 
Japanese  in  their  native  land. 

I  trust  that  this  anniversary  may  be  to  Doctor  and  Mrs. 
Sturge  the  occasion  not  only  for  the  expression  of  the 
grateful  appreciation  of  the  Japanese  Christians  in  Cali 
fornia  ;  not  only  for  a  renewed  interest  in  their  work  on 
the  part  of  their  many  friends  in  the  churches  of  Cali 
fornia,  but  also,  by  the  favor  of  God,  for  a  fresh  develop 
ment  of  faith  and  effort  and  fruitfulness  in  the  singularly 
interesting  work  to  which,  in  the  providence  of  God,  they 
have  been  called  and  in  which  they  have  been  so  gra 
ciously  blessed. 

HENRY  COLLIN  MINTON. 

San  Ansel-mo,  September  I,  1902. 


MRS.   E.  A.   STURGE. 


PREFACE 


1HIS  book  of  verses  is  brought  to  the  public  atten 
tion  through  the  efforts  of  the  young  men  of  the 
Japanese  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  who  desire  in  some  way  to 
express  their  appreciation  and  gratitude  for  the  years  of 
untiring  fidelity  to  the  cause  of  that  institution,  upon  the 
part  of  Dr.  Sturge. 

For  fifteen  years  Dr.  Sturge  has  superintended  the 
work  of  the  Japanese  Y.  M.  C.  A.  of  San  Francisco. 
By  his  indefatigable  zeal  and  painstaking  kindness  he  has 
won  the  respect  and  affection  of  all  those  who  have  come 
under  his  tutelage,  and  these,  in  recognition  of  the  years 
of  earnest  toil  for  the  education  and  advancement  of  the 
Japanese  in  San  Francisco,  have  resolved  to  surprise  their 
benefactor  by  the  publication  of  these  verses  written  by 
him  for  his  own  entertainment  and  with  no  thought  of 
ever  seeing  them  in  print. 

As  a  patriotic  and  warm-hearted  people,  we  desire  in 
this  public  manner  to  express  our  gratitude  for  the  con 
tinued  and  untiring  efforts  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Sturge, 
and  I  am  confident  that  not  only  the  Japanese  of  Califor 
nia,  but  also  those  at  home  will  ever  remember  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Sturge  for  their  kindness  to  us. 


14  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

These  poems  reveal  a  wonderful  insight  upon  the  part 
of  the  writer  into  the  character  and  spirit  of  the  Japanese 
people. 

Rhythm  and  rhyme  alone  do  not  constitute  poetry,  but 
the  true  poet  must  have  a  profound  knowledge  of  that 
concerning  which  he  writes,  and  a  deep  insight  into  the 
innermost  spirit  of  what  he  undertakes  to  depict.  The 
poet  is  born,  not  made.  The  impulse  must  come  from 
within,  not  from  without,  just  as  the  author  himself 
says: 

******    The  spjrjt  hidden  in  the  breast 
Is  painted,  not  externals,  and  perhaps  this  way  is  best." 

— Japanese  Art. 

These  poetic  qualities  are  amply  evidenced-  in  the  writ 
ings  of  Dr.  Sturge.  He  has  shown  an  unusual  knowl 
edge  of  the  life  and  character  of  the  Japanese  and  a  won 
derful  insight  into  the  dominating  spirit  of  the  people  of 
"  Old  Japan." 

Few  Americans  have  so  fully  understood  and  ex 
pressed  the  traits  and  influences  of  Japanese  life.  This 
writer  was  indeed  inspired  in  the  writing  of  these  verses, 
and  they  are  to  a  remarkable  extent  a  revelation  of  the 

spirit  of  "  Old  Japan." 

K.  TOSAWA. 

San  Francisco,  September  7, 1902. 


\\ 

X 


vVsST^ 

SKETdH 

••••  - 

'-.  ^ 

A  BRIEF  SKETCH  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  ERNEST  A.  STURGE. 


ADOLPHUS  STURGE  was  bom  of 

English  parents,  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  U.  S.  A., 
April  29,  1856. 

The  name  Ernest,  given  to  him  in  infancy,  pretty  well 
describes  his  nature. 

He  was  always  serious,  less  fond  of  play  than  most 
boys,  gentle  and  obedient,  and  one  who  gave  his  parents 
comparatively  little  trouble  or  anxiety.  From  both 
mother  and  father  he  inherited  a  robust  constitution,  and 
from  the  latter,  who  was  a  natural  artist  and  poet,  a 
strong  love  for  the  beautiful,  both  in  nature  and  art. 

When  eleven  years  of  age,  the  family  moved  to  Bridge- 
ton,  New  Jersey,  and  in  that  quiet  town  of  ten  thousand 
inhabitants  the  subject  of  this  sketch  grew  up  to  man 
hood,  receiving  his  education  in  the  public  and  private, 
schools. 

The  parents,  though  not  rich,  were  in  comfortable  cir 
cumstances.  It  was  not  from  necessity,  therefore,  but 
from  personal  inclination,  that  Ernest,  at  the  age  of  fif 
teen,  secured  a  contract  from  the  United  States  Govern 
ment  to  carry  the  mail  for  one  year  between  the  post- 


l6  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

office  and  the  railroad  station.  He  went  before  the 
county  clerk  and  took  an  oath  to  perform  this  duty  faith 
fully,  and  he  did,  never  failing  to  be  on  time. 

At  the  end  of  the  year,  he  found  that  he  had  saved  sev 
eral  hundred  dollars,  and  knowing  of  no  better  way  of 
spending  it,  he  decided  to  make  a  voyage  across  the  At 
lantic,  and  visit  his  English  relatives. 

This  was  a  rather  formidable  undertaking  for  a  lad  of 
sixteen,  but  the  journey  was  made  without  mishap,  and 
certainly  with  great  benefit,  as  it  awakened  a  strong  de 
sire  for  study  and  more  extended  travel. 

Though  from  childhood  possessed  of  a  strong  religious 
nature,  it  was  not  until  his  return  from  England  that  he 
made  a  public  profession  of  his  faith,  and  united  with  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Bridgeton. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  he  began  to  think  seriously 
of  becoming  a  medical  missionary.  In  order  to  fit  him 
self  for  this  work,  he  spent  three  years  in  the  study  of 
Latin,  Greek  and  higher  mathematics,  then  entered  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  with  honorable  mention  in 
1880. 

His  vacations  were  spent  in  the  study  of  science,  so 
that  he  was  enabled  to  pass  successfully  the  examination 
for  the  degree  of  PH.  D.  at  the  same  institution  in  the 
summer  of  the  same  year. 

Having  been  accepted  as  a  medical  missionary  by  the 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  leaving 


SKETCH.  17 

the  choice  of  the  field  to  the  Board,  he  was  appointed  to 
go  to  Petchaburi,  Siam.  He  sailed  in  August,  1880,  go 
ing  to  Asia  by  way  of  Europe  and  again  spending  a  short 
time  with  the  English  relatives. 

While  a  medical  student  in  Philadelphia,  he  met  the 
lady  who  was  to  become  the  sharer  of  his  joys  and  sor 
rows,  both  abroad  and  in  the  home-land.  Knowing  the 
climate  of  Siam  to  be  unhealthful,  the  young  physician 
thought  it  advisable  to  go  out  alone,  with  the  understand 
ing  that  if  climatic  and  other  conditions  should  not  prove 
too  unfavorable,  his  intended  was  to  follow  him.  This 
she  did  a  year  later,  crossing  the  Pacific  and  being  met 
by  Dr.  Sturge  at  Hongkong. 

They  proceeded  at  once  to  Canton,  China,  where  the 
two  were  made  one  by  Rev.  B.  C.  Henry,  D.  D.,  a  mis 
sionary  of  the  Presbyterian  Board,  August  27,  1881.  The 
home  established  by  this  union  has  been  for  more  than 
twenty-two  years  a  very  happy  one ;  and  we  trust  has  had 
its  influence  for  good  as  an  object-lesson  to  the  Siamese, 
who  have  no  word  in  their  language  for  home  and  who 
sometimes  asked  in  surprise  if  the  doctor  and  his  wife 
never  swore  at  one  another. 

From  the  beginning  there  was  plenty  of  work  for  the 
physician.  With  the  assistance  of  an  English  uncle,  he 
was  enabled  to  build  a  small  hospital,  the  first  in  Siam, 
without  any  help  from  the  Mission  Board.  Some  years 
Dr.  Sturge  treated  as  many  as  five  thousand  patients. 
Quite  a  number  found  in  the  hospital  the  Great  Physi 
cian,  and  united  with  the  little  company  of  believers. 


i8  THE;  SPIRIT  OF  JAPAN. 

Some  of  those  who  found  Christ  in  this  way  are  still 
living,  while  others  have  gone  to  join  the  larger  company 
of  believers  above. 

One  who  came  a  long  distance  for  physical  healing 
became  an  earnest  preacher  of  the  Gospel  to  his  people, 
and  proved  faithful  unto  the  end,  dying  as  a  Christian 
martyr. 

During  these  years  Mrs.  Sturge  had  charge  of  the 
Petchaburi  Boys'  School. 

The  doctor  and  his  wife  passed  through  two  fearful 
epidemics  of  cholera,  and  these  were  indeed  busy  and 
anxious  times.  Both  were  attacked  by  the  dread  dis 
ease,  but  the  husband's  case  was  more  critical.  His  life 
for  a  time  seemed  to  be  hanging  by  a  single  thread.  Not 
withstanding  frequent  illnesses,  due  to  malaria  and  other 
tropical  disorders,  the  five  years  they  spent  in  Siam  were 
happy  and  useful  ones.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  broken 
health  compelled  a  return  to  the  United  States. 

Many  natives  gathered  on  the  bank  to  wave  a  sad  good 
bye,  as  the  house-boat,  bearing  the  medical  missionary 
and  his  wife  floated  down  the  river,  on  the  way  to  Bang 
kok,  where  they  took  a  steamer  for  the  homeland. 

In  the  spring  of  the  following  year  (1886),  while  rest 
ing  in  San  Francisco,  expecting  soon  to  return  to  Siam 
or  to  some  other  field  in  Asia,  this  missionary  couple  be 
came  greatly  interested  in  some  Japanese  who  had  formed 
an  independent  society  for  the  study  of  the  Bible,  and  for 
mutual  improvement,  meeting  in  an  upper  room  on  Golden 
Gate  Avenue. 


SKETCH.  19 

At  the  request  of  the  missionaries  laboring  among  the 
Chinese  in  California,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Sturge  were  ap 
pointed  by  the  Board  to  continue  in  San  Francisco,  and 
build  up  a  Presbyterian  Japanese  Mission.  No  urging 
was  necessary,  as  the  hearts  of  the  doctor  and  his  wife 
were  at  once  drawn  to  these  earnest  and  intelligent  young 
men.  Both  cheerfully  taught  classes  of  Japanese  stu 
dents  who  were  anxious  to  learn  the  English  language. 

In  the  early  days  there  was  no  native  evangelist  to 
assist  in  the  work  and  Dr.  Sturge  conducted  most  of 
the  religious  services  on  Sunday  and  Wednesday  even 
ings,  while  his  wife  presided  at  the  organ. 

The  Japanese  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
was  organized  and  soon  the  association  was  moved  to  a 
larger  and  better  building  on  Mission  Street.  This  also 
became  too  small  for  the  growing  society  and  the  ad 
joining  house  was  rented. 

After  three  years  thus  spent,  the  doctor,  believing  that 
his  vocation  was  medical  work  rather  than  teaching,  the 
Japanese  Mission  was  placed  in  the  competent  hands  of 
Rev.  A.  Hattori,  a  Japanese  minister,  who  had  taken  a 
post  graduate  course  in  one  of  our  eastern  theological 
seminaries ;  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Sturge  being  now  relieved, 
spent  a  year  in  Germany,  and  another  in  visiting  various 
parts  of  the  United  States ;  when  again,  at  the  urgent  re 
quest  of  the  Board,  they  resumed  charge  of  the  Japanese 
Mission  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Dr.  Sturge  being  now  assured  that  he  was  called  to 
this  work,  threw  his  whole  heart  into  it.  The  old  theo- 


2O  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

logical  seminary  on  Haight  Street  was  purchased  for 
the  headquarters  of  the  Japanese  work,  and  a  branch  mis 
sion  home  was  opened  in  another  portion  of  the  city. 
Through  the  generosity  of  the  Assembly's  Board  three 
other  flourishing  mission  Stations  have  been  founded, 
one  being  at  Los  Angeles,  one  at  Salinas  and  the  other 
at  Watsonville. 

During  all  these  years  Dr.  Sturge  has  been  ably  as 
sisted  by  the  Japanese  and  any  success  that  he  has  met 
with  is  due  largely  to  this  fact.  About  three  hundred 
young  men  have  united  with  the  mission  church  since  Dr. 
Sturge  took  charge.  Most  of  these  are  now  in  Japan, 
helping  by  their  words  and  lives  to  witness  for  their 
Master. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Sturge,  after  a  score  of  years  of  mission 
work,  are  only  in  middle  life.  How  many  years  are  left 
to  them  they  know  not,  but  they  ask  for  nothing  better 
than  to  be  permitted  to  spend  them  all  in  the  service  of 
the  Master  and  in  assisting  the  Japanese  whom  they 
dearlv  love. 


Glllll© 


PART    FIRST 


(g/ii  US) 


22  THK    SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


CONTENTS  OF  PART  FIRST. 


SELECTED  POEMS. 

The  Author's  Prayer  .......................................  23 

One  String  and  Paganini  ...................................  24 

Doubt  and  Faith  ...........................................  25 

Copying  the  Master  ........................................  26 

Care  ......................................................  28 

The  Peace  of  Christ  ........................................  29 

Hope  .....................................................  30 

Love   .....................................................  30 

Peace  .....................................................  31 

The  Divine  Weaver  ........................................  31 

Love  Abides  ...............................................  32 

The  Language  of  Love  .....................................  33 

The  Bible  .................................................  34 

The  Gospel  Mine  ..........................................  35 

To  Rev.  M.  C.  Harris,  D.D  ................................  36 

Better  Than  Gold  ..........................................  37 

Golden  Words  .............................................  38 

Bellicose  Bells  in  England  ..................................  39 

Our  Shield  ...................  .............................  40 

The  Great  Physician  .......................................  41 

Jesus  Saw  the  Signal  ......................................  42 

Intolerance   ...............................................  44 

Thoughts  for  the  New  Year  ................................  45 

A  Clean  Record  ...........................................  46 

The  Hidden  Future  ........................................  46 


PART     FIRST 


SELECTED   POEMS 


THE  AUTHOR'S   PRAYER. 


My  life,  dear  Lord,  like  harp  unstrung, 

Has  only  rung 
With  discord  drear,  or  else  stood  mute, 

Like  rifted  flute. 

0  God,  I  am  not  satisfied 

To  thus  abide. 

1  would  be  useful,  if  I  knew 

What  I  should  do. 

This  harp  I  bring  to  Thee,  my  King; 

Tune  Thou  each  string. 
I'm  waiting,  Master,  at  Thy  feet; 

Make  me  complete. 

Dear  Master,  bring  out  every  tone, 

I'm  Thine  alone; 
Oh,  let  me  sing  at  Thy  command, 

Touched  by  Thy  hand! 


24  THE    SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


ONE  STRING  AND  PAGANINI. 


"One  string  and  Paganini !" 

The  master  cried,  and  drew 
His  bow  o'er  one  remaining  string, — 

The  rest  had  snapped  in  two. — 
The  violin  seemed  crippled, 

And  quite  unfit  to  play ; 
But  one  string  in  the  master's  hands 

Made  melody  that  day. 

If  we  our  single  talent 

Resign  into  the  hands 
Of  our  great  Master,  who  has  made, 

And  fully  understands, 
Each  one  of  us,  His  instruments, 

His  power  through  us  will  flow, 
As  Paganini  skill,  that  day, 

Transmitted  through  his  bow. 


POEMS.  25 

DOUBT  AND   FAITH. 


Doubt  seems  a  bird  without  a  wing; 
It  cannot  fly,  it  cannot  sing; 
It  never  did  a  useful  thing 
To  tell  about. 

Faith  spread  the  wings  that  crossed  the  sea, 
To  find  this  land  for  you  and  me; 
And  Faith  did  everything  that  we 
Feel  proud  about. 

Doubt  tunnels  into  some  great  height, 
And  dwells  in  gloom  of  endless  night, 
Not  digging  through  to  find  the  light 
It  doubts  about. 

Faith,  piercing  Alps,  comes  out  again 
Where  flowers  deck  Italia's  plain, 
And  sends  to  heaven  its  glad  refrain, 
With  mighty  shout. 

Doubt  tears  the  chart,  cuts  down  the  mast, 
And  breaking  compass,  leaves  at  last 
Our  helpless  boat  on  ocean  vast, 
To  float  about. 

But  Faith  has  done  such  mighty  things, 
No  wonder  the  apostle  sings 
In  praises  of  the  faith  that  brings 
Such  things  about. 


26  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

COPYING  THE  MASTER. 


To  study  Munich's  works  of  art. 
And  find  the  secrets  hidden  there, 

The  students  come  from  every  part 
To  copy  paintings  old  and  rare. 

Long  since,  the  masters  passed  away, 
And  yet  they  speak  in  colors  bright, 

As  speaks  the  sun  at  close  of  day, 
In  lovely  lines  of  living  light. 

Among  the  students,  side  by  side 

Wrought  two,  who  reproduced  with  care 

A  picture  of  the  crucified 

Redeemer,  that  was  hanging  there. 

In  contemplation  they  remained 

Some  time,  and  then  produced  again 

The  curves  and  colors  that  had  gained 
The  admiration  of  all  men. 

Each  day  the  pictures  grew  to  be 
More  like  the  one  upon  the  wall, — 

The  blessed   Christ  upon  the  tree, 
Who  gave  Himself  to  save  us  all. 

Some  days  they  little  progress  made; 

Indeed,  it  seemed  the  other  way; 
Unsatisfied   with   shape   or   shade, 

They  scraped  their  former  work  away. 

A  little  color  here  and  there 

Was  added,  and  perhaps  a  line 

Was  drawn  again  with  greater  care; 

And  so  they  wrought  from  time  to  time. 


SELECTED  POEMS.  27 

There  came  a  day  when  both  were  done; 

They  looked  upon  their  work  with  pride ; 
But,  glancing  from  their  own  to  one 

Above,  they  were  not  satisfied. 

'Tis  thus  each  one  should  copy  Him 
Who  came  from  heaven  to  be  our  guide, 

Who  died  to  save  us  from  our  sin ; 
And  yet,  who  can  be  satisfied? 

But  if  we  do  the  best  we  can, 
Will  not  the  Master  say,  "  Well  done!" 

And  make  complete  what  we  began, 
When  our  brief  day  on  earth  is  done? 

Though  we  should   copy  every  day, 

In  order  that  we  may  succeed, 
And  follow  Him,  who  is  the  way, 

We  each  an  inward  fitness  need. 

No  artist  ever  yet  became, 

By   copying   another's   art, 
Renowned  in  song,  or  known  to  fame; 

True  works  of  art  spring  from  the  heart. 

The  artist  must  be  born,  not  made; 

His  own  exertions  will  not  make 
A  genius.     Is  art  a  trade 

That  any  one  can  undertake  ? 

So,  likewise,  those  who  wish  to  form 

The  image  of  the  One  they  love 
Upon  life's  canvas,  must  be  born 

A  second  time,  from  heaven  above. 


28  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


CARE. 


'Tis  Care  drives  the  plow 
That  furrows  the  brow. 
The  silvery  hair 
Is  frosted  by  Care. 

I  know  where  Care  stays 
By  the  tracks  which  he  lays; 
By  tear-bedimmed  eyes 
And   sorrowful  sighs. 

Corroding  Care  is  everywhere  — 
In  mansion  grand  and  attic  bare, 
On  every  hand  lurks  hateful  Care. 

Would  you  know  how 
To  stop  the  plow 

That  furrows  the  brow  ? 

Would  you  know  where 
To  lose  the  care 

That  whitens  the  hair? 

"  Come,  laden  one,"  we  hear  Christ  say, 
"  Here  at  My  feet  your  burden  lay  ; 
I'll  help  you  bear  it  day  by  day." 


SELECTED   POEMS.  29 


THE  PEACE  OF  CHRIST. 


What  peace  had  Christ,  the  crucified? 
He  said,  "  My  peace  I  give,"  and  then 
Went  out  to  bear  from  cruel  men 
The  scourge,  the  buffeting,  the  cross, 
To  bear  the  world's  great  load  of  sin; 
Had  Jesus  peace?     Yes,  peace  within. 

This  peace  had  Christ,  the  crucified ; 
A  peace  that  gave  Him  power  to  bear 
The  dreadful  cross,  and  all  the  woes 
Inflicted  by  His  cruel  foes, 
Without  a  murmur;  while  His  prayer 
Was  made  for  those  who  placed  Him  there. 

This  peace  gives   Christ,  the  crucified, 

A  peace  that,  while  we  follow  Him 

And  suffer,  we  may  feel  within 

A  calmness  that  the  world  knows  not. 

He  may  not  give  an  easy  lot, 

But  peace  within,  sweet  peace  within. 


THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


LOVE. 


Tis  love  hath  power  to  change  a  humble  home 

Into  a  very  paradise  of  bliss; 

But  if  'tis  absent,  even  palaces 

Are  cold  and  cheerless.     Yes,  'tis  love  alone 

Can  make  a  heaven  in  the  next  world  or  this. 

It  will  not  be  the  pearly  gates  above, 
Nor  glassy  sea,  nor  streets  of  purest  gold, 
Nor  all  the  glories  such  as  we  are  told 
In  Revelation  make  up  heaven  ;  but  love,  — 
The  love  of  God  and  man  together  rolled. 


HOPE. 


Hope  is  full  of  cheer, 
Hovering  on  sunny  wings, 
Whispering  of  better  things, 

Into  every  ear; 
Helping  weary  ones  to  bear 
Poverty  and  pain  and  care  ; 

Hope  is  ever  here. 


POEMS.  31 

PEACE. 
* 

Peace  is  a  lovely  angel  with  white  wings  ; 

Beatitude  is  beaming  in  her  face. 

The  rarest,  sweetest  blossoms  fill  her  hands  ; 

Such  only  bloom  in  that  most  favored  place 

Where  sweet  Contentment  at  her  labor  sings. 

Where'er  the  dark  and  angry  clouds  of  war 

Do  hang  with  sullen,  threatening  aspect  o'er 

Our  little  world,  this  angel  flies  and  fans 

With  her  untiring,  swiftly-moving  wings 

The  gathering  gloom,  and  drives  each  cloud  that  lowers 

Away  ;  then  scatters  o'er  the  land  her  flowers. 


THE    DIVINE   WEAVER. 

* 

The  threads  of  life  are  gathered  up 

Into  Thy  hand  divine  ; 
And  as  the  shuttle  of  the  years 
Flies  swiftly,  and  to  us  appears 

A  glimpse  of  Thy  design, 
We  see  in  part  —  for  Thou  alone, 
Beholding  from  Omniscient  Throne 

Canst  see  the  finished  web  — 
But  from  the  glimpse  we  have,  we  know 
The  pattern  will  in  beauty  grow 

Until  before  us  spread 
Will  be  the  whole,  and  not  a  span, 
The  work  begun  when  time  began, 

Complete  in  every  thread. 


32  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


LOVE   ABIDES. 


Love  is  ever  young  and  strong; 

Passion  will  grow  cold  in  time; 
Love,  if  true,  will  last  as  long 

As  the  heavens;  it  is  divine. 

Admiration  takes  its  flight, 

When  the  natural  beauty  wanes  ; 

Love  depends  not  on  the  sight; 
'Tis  immortal  and  remains. 

Love  will  cease  not  with  the  breath  ; 

Freed  from  passion,  purified, 
Stronger  far  than  life  or  death, 

Love  forever  will  abide. 

Earthly  passions  turn  to  dross, 
And  so  perish;  love,  like  gold 

Purified,  sustains  no  loss  ; 

Love,  if  true,  can  ne'er  grow  cold, 


POEMS.  33 


THE  LANGUAGE  OF  LOVE. 


Why  should  we  speak 

In  Latin  or  Greek, 
Dead  as  a  nail, 

And  stiff  as  a  rail? 
Far  above  these 

A  language  of  ease 
Speaks  with  the  eye, 

Sometimes  in  a  sigh 
Or  grasp  of  the  hand, 

Which  all  understand. 
These  make  no  slips 

Like  stammering  lips. 
Speech  born  of  love — 

All  others  above — 
Learned  not  at  school, 

Nor  governed  by  rule, 
Comes,  without  art, 

Right  out  of  the  heart. 


34  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


THE   BIBLE. 


The  Bible  is  a  mirror,  where  we  see 
Ourselves,  imperfect,  soiled,  and  clothed  in  rags  ; 
But  standing  near  to  us,  with  outstretched  hands, 
We  see  the  Christ,  who  beckons  us  to  Him 
For  cleansing,  dress  and  everything  we  need. 

Approach  this  mirror  with  an  open  face; 

Throw  off  the  veil  of  prejudice,  and  take 

One  look  at  self  —  one  look  will  be  enough  — 

Then  look  on  the  reflected  image  there, 

Not  thine,  but  God's  revealed  in  Christ  our  Lord. 

With  bended  knee,  gaze  on  that  lovely  face 

Until  His  likeness  forms  within  thy  soul, 

And  self  will  be  transformed,  not  lost,  but  raised 

From  glory  unto  glory,  till  you  bear 

In  your  own  features,  God's,  your  Maker's,  grace. 

From  glory  unto  glory,  till  at  last, 
The  one  you  dimly  saw  reflected  there, 
You  shall  in  perfect  beauty  clearly  see. 
Then  face  to  face.     The  glass  may  pass  away  ; 
You'll  need  it  not  in  heaven's  brighter  day. 


SELECTED  POEMS.  35 


THE   GOSPEL  MINE. 


On  old  Pacific's  wave-washed  shore 

There  is  a  Golden  Gate; 
Through  this,  for  thirty  years  or  more  — 

Borne  by  the  stream  of  fate  — 
The  Japanese  have  found  their  way 
To  western  lands  ;  a  while  to  stay 

Within  the  Golden  State. 

A  few  who  came  with  hopes  and  fears 

Found  here  a  richer  mine 
Than  any  found  by  pioneers 

Who  came  in  'forty-nine. 
This  precious  treasure  still  remains, 
And  all  who  will  may  take  up  claims 

To  riches  for  all  time. 

And  rich,  indeed,  is  he  who  finds, 

Here,  in  the  Golden  State, 
The  treasures  of  the  Gospel  Mines, 

Where  riches  still  await 
The  earnest  seekers,  young  and  old, 
Who  enter  through  the  gate  of  gold, 

Borne  by  the  stream  of  fate. 


36  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


TO  REV.  M.  C.  HARRIS,  D.  D. 

Upon  the  completion  of  fifteen  years  of  labor  for  the  Japanese 
on  the  Pacific  Coast. 


Dear  doctor,  since  you  first  came  here, 
The  flying  shuttle  of  the  year 

Has  sped  some  fifteen  times ; 
And  every  year  the  pattern  grew 
In  loveliness,  as,  added  new, 

Were  other  graceful  lines. 

Thank  God,  the  thread  of  life  holds  strong ! 
And  may  the  time  be  very  long 

Before  the  set  of  sun; 
When  every  thread  shall  be  complete, 
The  web  spread  at  the  Master's  feet, 

You  hear  the  sweet,  "  Well  done!" 


SELECTED  POEMS.          .  37 


BETTER    THAN    GOLD. 


Better  the  word  of  the  Lord  than  much  gold ; 
Better  than  anything  e'er  bought  or  sold ; 
Better  than  treasures,  which  men  cannot  hold ; 
Better  than  gold,  yes,  better  than  gold. 

Better  the  story  its  pages  unfold; 
Better  than  anything  else  ever  told ; 
Better  the  treasures  it  holds,  new  and  old; 
Better  than  gold,  yes,  better  than  gold. 

Better  than  money-bags  soon  to  grow  old ; 
Better  than  anything  destined  to  mold; 
Better  than  stories  which  pall  when  once  told; 
Better  than  gold,  yes,  better  than  gold. 


38  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN, 


GOLDEN  WORDS. 


Words,  when  fitly  spoken, 

Are  like  to  fruit  of  gold, 
And  fairer  than  the  apple 

Which  jealous  Eris  rolled 
Among  the  guests  assembled 

Upon  the  wedding  day 
Of  Peleus  and  Thetis, 

Which  caused  an  awful  fray, 
Words,  when  fitly  spoken, 

Will  heal  a  breaking  heart ; 
Loving  words,  like  ointment, 

Will  take  away  the  smart. 
Gold  oft  causes  discord, 

Like  Eris'  golden  ball; 
Golden  words  are  better, 

And  in  the  reach  of  all. 


SELECTED  POEMS.  39 


BELLICOSE  BELLS  IN  ENGLAND. 


From  yonder  graceful  steeple  high, 

That  points  straight  upward  to  the  sky, 

Eight  bells  call  out  to  passers  by: 

"  This  is  the  true  and  only  church  — 

All  others  leave  you  in  the  lurch  — 

The  mother  church,  the  church  of  Rome, 

Come  home  !  Come  home  !  Come  home  !  Come  home  !" 

A  little  church  with  steeple  slight, 
And  one  coarse  bell,  quite  impolite, 
Most  brazenly  made  this  reply  : 
"'T'sa  He!  T'sa  lie!  'T'sa  lie!  'T'sa  lie!" 

Another  church  with  steeple  grand, 

A  temple  aided  by  the  land, 

Called  out,  "O  people,  understand, 

This  is  God's  church  !  Oh,  cease  your  strife  ! 

The  place,  of  all,  to  God  most  dear  ; 

We  teach  the  way,  the  truth,  the  life. 

Ccme  here  !  Come  here  !  Come  here  !  Come  here  !" 

Again,  I  heard  same  bell  dissent  ; 

A  little  bell  on  discord  bent, 

In  angry  tones  make  this  reply: 

"'T'sa  He!  'T'sa  lie!  'T'sa  lie!  'T'sa  lie!" 


4O  THE:  SPIRIT  OF  JAPAN. 


OUR    SHIELD. 


You've  read  the  story  of  Elaine,  the  fair, 

Elaine,  the  lily  maid  of  Astolat, 
Who  guarded  in  her  tower,  with  jealous  care, 

The  scarred  and  blazoned  shield  of  Lancelot  ; 
And  how  she  made  for  it  a  cover  rare, 

To  shield  the  shield  from  any  rust  or  spot. 

You've  read  how  she  would  daily  climb  the  tower, 
Strip  off  the  case,  and  read  the  naked  shield, 

And  gaze  on  its  depressions  by  the  hour, 

And  guess  the  meaning  which  each  dent  revealed: 

"  This  but  a  scratch,  while  that  one  shows  the  power, 
Such  as  a  mighty  arm  alone  could  wield." 

"  This  made  at  Camelot,  and  that  elsewhere  ;" 

"This  scar,"  she  thought,"was  new  and  that  one  old  ; 

And  ah,  God's  mercy!  what  a  stroke  was  there! 
And  this  blow  would  have  killed,  had  not  God  rolled 

The  great  foe  down,  and  saved  the  brave  knight  there." 
And  "  so  she  lived  in  fantasy  "  we're  told. 

'Tis  well,  at  times,  to  bar  the  chamber  door, 
And  thus,  in  secret,  gaze  upon  our  shield  ; 

Far  richer  and  more  precious  in  its  lore 

Than  that  which  earthly  armor  e'er  revealed. 

The  Saviour  is  the  Shield,  Who  for  us  bore 
The  fiercest  onslaught  that  our  foe  could  wield. 


SELECTED  POEMS.  41 


See !  on  the  brow  are  scars  which  show  the  place 
Where  cruel  thorns  were  pressed,  and  on  the  back 

Are  marks  made  by  the  lash,  and  on  the  face 
Are  signs  of  smiting ;  and  behold  the  track 

Of  nails  in  feet  and  hands  which  richest  grace 
Dispensed,  supplying  many  people's  lack. 

And  there,  behold  that  scar  upon  the  breast! 

Which  marks  the  place  the  soldier's  spear  went  in ; 
Had  not  our  Shield  received  this  and  the  rest, 

And  broken  there  our  foe's  strong  lance  of  sin, 
We  would  have  died,  instead  of  being  blest 

To  share  forever  heaven's  joys  with  Him. 


THE  GREAT  PHYSICIAN. 


The  Great  Physician's  sympathizing  heart 
Is  moved  to  pity  by  the  cruel  smart 
That  any  of  His  loved  ones  have  to  bear ; 
He  mixes  for  each  one  the  cup  with  care, 
And  puts  in  not  one  bitter  drop  too  much ; 
He  stills  life's  fever  with  His  soothing  touch ; 
Each  untoward  symptom,  by  His  wise  control 
Is  mastered,  till  the  loved  ones  are  made  whole. 


42  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


JESUS    SAW    THE    SIGNAL. 


In  a  ward  lay  little  Bobbie  ; 

Both  his  legs  were  crushed  and  torn 
By  a  truck;  and  close  beside  him 

Sat  a  comrade,  Billy  Dorn. 

"  Bobbie,"  said  his  young  companion, 

Bending  o'er  the  iron  cot, 
"  Have  you  ever  heard  of  Jesus  ?" 

"  No,"  said  Bobbie,  "  I  have  not." 

"Well,  a  teacher  at  the  Mission 
Told  us,  when  a  feller  dies, 

If  we  axed  Him,  He  would  take  us 
To  His  home  up  in  the  skies." 

"  There  is  never  cold  nor  hunger, 
Pain,  nor  cause  for  any  tear." 

"  What  a  jolly  place  !"  said  Bobbie, 
"  Not  for  like  of  us,  I  fear." 

"  Teacher  said,"  continued  Billy, 

"  Jesus  never  turns  away 
Any  feller  'cause  he's  ragged, 

And  has  not  a  cent  to  pay." 


SELECTED   POEMS.  43 


"  Wish  I  knew  where  I  could  find  him ; 

But  it  is  no  use  to  know; 
If  I  knew/'  sighed  weary  Bobbie, 

"  Without  legs  how  could  I  go  ?" 

"  Teacher  said  that  Jesus  passes 
By,  and  you  can  speak  to  Him." 

"  Oh,  that  I  might  see  Him,  Billy, 
But  the  lights  are  growing  dim!" 

"  Raise  your  hand,  and  He  will  see  you.3 
Languidly  poor  Bobbie  tried ; 

But  it  fell  because  of  weakness, 
In  a  moment,  at  his  side. 

"  I'm  too  weak,"  sighed  weary  Bobbie. 

"  I  will  help  you,"  Billy  said ; 
And  all  night  he  propped  the  little 

Arm  upon  the  iron  bed. 

Jesus  passed.     He  saw  the  signal ; 

Took  poor  Bobbie  to  that  home 
Where  there  is  no  cold  nor  hunger, 

Whence  the  inmates  never  roam. 


44  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


INTOLERANCE. 


Some  call  a  man  intolerant 

Because  he  tries  to  fight 
The  gambling-hells  and  grog-shops, 

And  sin  with  all  his  might  ; 
Because  he  hates  corruption, 

And  everything  untrue; 
If  this  is  called  intolerant, 

I  would  be  called  so,  too. 

Some  call  a  man  intolerant 

Because  he  does  his  best 
To  put  a  stop  to  traffic 

Upon  the  day  of  rest; 
And  yet  his  heart  may  throb  with  love 

For  Gentile  and  for  Jew. 
If  this  is  called  intolerant 

I  would  be  called  so,  too. 


SELECTED  POEMS.  45 


THOUGHTS  FOR  THE  NEW  YEAR. 


The  year  is  done;  its  record  is  complete. 
Another  leaf  is  turned,  another  sheet 
In  life's  account-book,  and  before  your  eyes 
The  new  year,  like  a  page  unsullied,  lies. 
Soil  not  the  clean,  white  page  as  you  begin 
Another  record;  blot  it  not  with  sin; 
But  let  the  writing  be  both  fair  and  true  ; 
Not  such  as  you  will  be  ashamed  to  view, 
Or  seek  to  wash  away  with  bitter  tears, 
As  you  behold  it  in  the  coming  years. 

The  years  are  flying  swiftly  ;  each  when  passed 
Should  show  a  better  record  than  the  last  ; 
Until  the  book  of  life  again  you  give 
To  Him  Who  gave  to  you  this  life  to  live, 
And  Who  is  proving  by  your  doings  here 
Your  fitness  for  existence  in  that  sphere 
Where  years  are  numbered  by  no  little  world 
Revolving  round  the  sun;  for  there  unfurled 
Eternity  shall  stretch  through  endless  time, 
And  you  shall  enter  on  the  life  divine. 


46  THE;  SPIRIT  OF  JAPAN. 


A  CLEAN  RECORD. 


Much  better  the  vessel  should  never  be  broken, 

Than  shattered  and  mended  again  ; 
What  hand  hath  the  requisite  skill  to  restore, 
And  make  it  again  what  it  had  been  before 
It  fell  ?     Is  it  not  so  with  men  ? 


THE   HIDDEN    FUTURE. 


'Tis  well  we  have  not  power  to  look 
Within  life's  sealed,  mysterious  book, 

And  read  what's  written  for  us  there 
If  we  upon  that  page  could  glance, 
We  might  lack  courage  to  advance 

Upon  a  path  beset  with  care. 

Enough  for  us  that  God  knows  all 
That  must  to  each  of  us  befall, 

For  He  alone  marks  out  our  way  ; 
And  He  will  give  us  power  to  bear 
Each  burden,  and  will  with  us  share 

The  load  we  carry  day  by  day. 


PART    SECOND 


CONTENTS  OF  PART  SECOND. 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  JAPAN. 

The  Spirit  of  Yamato  ......................................  49 

The  Creation  of  Japan  .....................................  50 

Match-Making  ............................................  51 

The  Birth  of  the  Gods  .....................................  52 

The  Pouting  Sun-Goddess  .................................  54 

An  Afternoon  Tea  for  Men  ................................  55 

The  Thunder  God  .........................................  56 

Masamune's  Swords  .........................  .  .............  56 

The  Samurai's  Children  ....................................  58 

The  Wind  God  ............................................  60 

A  Japanese  Nobleman's  Dream  .............................  60 

Susano  Kills  the  Dragon  ...................................  62 

Japanese  Dreams  of  the  Home  Land  ........................  63 

The  Emperor's  Three  Treasures  ............................  64 

Japanese  Art  ..............................................  65 

The  Emperor's  Birthday  ....................................  66 

Earthquakes  .........  ......  ...............................  67 

Nature  Worship  ..................  .  ........................  67 

Japanese  Wall  Decorations  .................................  68 

The  Seventh  Night  ........................................  69 

JAPANESE  FAVORITE  FLOWERS,  TREES  AND    BIRDS 

The  Plum  .................................................  70 

The  Lotus  .................................................  71 

Morning-Glories   ..........................................  72 

The  Chrysanthemum  .......................................  73 

The  Cherry  .................................  *  ..............  74 

The  Bamboo  ...............................................  75 

The  Pine  ..................................................  76 

The  Nightingale  ...........................................  77 

The  Lark  ......................................  ............  78 

The  Swallow  ............................  ..................  79 

The  Hototogisu  ............................................  80 

The  Crane  .................................................  81 

The  Pomegranate  ..........................................  82 

The  Willow  ...............................................  83 

Our  Attitude  ..............................................  83 

Reverence  for  Age  .........................................  84 


The  Spirit  of  Yamato. 


PART    SECOND 


THE  SPIRIT  OF  JAPAN 


THE    SPIRIT    OF   YAMATO. 


When  the  sun  ascends  the  eastern  sky, 
And  the  cherry  blooms  perfume  the  air, 

There  is  something  comes  to  the  Samurai 
Like  the  voice  of  an  incense-laden  prayer ; 

And  a  whisper  says :   "  It  is  sweet  to  die 

At  the  Master's  call;  but  never  fly." 

With  their  delicate  fleeting,  fragrant  breath, 
The  magnificent  petals  that  quickly  fall, 

To  the  Samurai's  spirit  speak  of  death, 
For  they  say  in  language  known  to  all: 

"  We  relinquish  our  hold  on  the  parent  trees, 

And  we  fall  at  the  call  of  the  morning  breeze." 


5O  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

CREATION   OF  JAPAN. 


A  god  and  goddess  took  their   stand 
Upon  the  rainbow  bridge  that  spanned 

The  heaving,  shoreless  sea, 
Until  that  time,  we  understand 
Was  water  only,  for  the  land 

Had  not  begun  to  be. 

Thus,  standing  o'er  the  wide  expanse 
Of  sea,  the  god  thrust  in  his  lance ; 

At  once  the  drops  congealed. 
Then,  lo !  that  matchless  chain  of  isles 
Which  stretches  full  two  thousand  miles, 

In  beauty  stood  revealed. 

There  stood  the  mountain  crowned  with  snow, 
The  azure  lakes  reposed  below, 

Like  mirrors  for  the  skies, 
The  waterfalls  and  streams  that  gleam, 
And  fields  and  woods  in  living  green, 

In  nature's  fairest  dyes. 

All  other  lands  are  from  the  foam 
Of  ocean  made;  Japan  alone 

Came  from  the  jeweled  spear. 
No  wonder  that  this  land  most  blessed, 
The  first  created  and  the  best, 

To  Japanese  seems  dear. 


The  Birth  of  the  Gods. 


THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN.  5! 


MATCH-MAKING. 


Every  year,  upon  the  last  day 
Of  the  ninth  month,  the  believers 
In  the  Shinto  faith  assemble 
At  the  shrines  to  hold  their  farewell 
Meetings  for  gods  of  Nippon, 
Who  at  that  time  make  a  journey. 

In  the  province  of  Izumo, 
At  the  grave  of  brave  Susano, 
Who  laid  low  the  fearful  dragon, 
Which  devoured  the  maids  of  Nippon, 
For  a  month  the  gods  assemble, 
To  arrange  for  future  bridals. 

Here,  unseen  by  earthly  mortals, 
Gods  select  the  youths  and  maidens 
Who  will  in  the  year  to  follow 
Be  united  to  each  other 
In  the  holy  bands  of  wedlock. 
What  an  anxious  time  for  lovers  ! 

One  month  later,  the  disciples 
Meet  at  Shinto  shrines  to  welcome 
Back  the  gods,  and  in  the  wooing, 
Which  is  always  sure  to  follow, 
Urge  that  those  by  gods  united, 
Men  should  not  attempt  to  sunder. 


52  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

THE   BIRTH  OF  THE  GODS. 


Two  heavenly  beings,  Yo  and  In, 

Stepped  down  from  the  rainbow  bridge, 

To  the  beautiful  earth,  undefiled  with  sin  ; 

And  sacred  to  many  since  then  has  been 
The  bold  Kirishima's  ridge. 

Then  Yo  on  the  left  side,  and  In  on  the  right, 

Explored  the  magnificent  isle, 
So  lately  awakened  from  chaos  and  night. 
Through  paradise  crowded  with  every  delight, 

They  wandered  for  many  a  mile. 

/ 
They  circle  the  beautiful  island  and  meet 

Again  on  the  opposite  shore  ; 
"  To  meet  such  a  lovely  companion  is  sweet  !'' 
The  goddess  exclaimed,  in  her  joy  to  greet 

Her  heavenly  lord  once  more. 

The  goddess  spoke  fiVst,  as  a  goddess  will, 

Which  angered  her  spouse  divine; 
Who,  vexed  at  this  liberty,  bade  her  be  still, 
And  also  to  make,  for  opposing  his  will, 

The  journey  a  second  time. 

They  circled  the  island  and  met  again 

Once  more  on  the  other  side  ; 
"  How  sweet  is  the  pleasure,"  cried  Yo,  who  began, 
"  To  meet  such  a  goddess  as  you,  in  Japan  ! 

Together  now  let  us  abide." 


THE:  SPIRIT  OF  JAPAN.  53 

Thus,  love  had  beginning,  and  from  it  there  sprung 

Both  the  gods  and  people  of  earth ; 
The  first  was  a  daughter,  the  radiant  sun, 
Called  Ama-Terasu,  the  glorious  one, 
Transferred  to  the  sky  from  her  birth. 

The  second,  a  daughter  called  Tsuki,  the  moon, 

Resembling  the  sun,  but  less  bright; 
At  first  they  reigned  jointly,  but  poor  Tsuki  soon 
Offended  her  sister,  who  ordered  the  moon 
To  show  herself  only  at  night. 

The  third  was  Hiruko,  a  cripple,  and  he 

At  three  was  unable  to  stand  ; 
So  making  a  boat  from  a  sweet  camphor  tree, 
They  set  him  afloat  on  the  wide  open  sea, 

The  first  of  the  fisherman's  band. 

The  fourth  was  a  scape-grace,  Susano  by  name, 
Who  ruled  o'er  the  great,  restless  sea ; 

His  spirit  the  gods  were  unable  to  tame ; 

He  trod  down  the  rice-fields  again  and  again, 
His  sister  had  sown  on  the  lea. 

The  gods  of  the  mountains,  the  thunder  and  rain, 

The  gods  of  the  rivers  and  earth, 
The  god  of  the  winds  and  the  god  of  flame, 
With  myriad  others,  too  many  to  name, 

From  these  we  have  mentioned  had  birth. 


54  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

THE    POUTING    SUN-GODDESS. 


One  day,  as  the  sun-goddess  sat  at  her  loom, 
Her  vexatious  brother  threw  into  the  room 
A  hide  that  was  reeking,  just  stripped  from  a  horse; 
The  goddess  was  angry  at  conduct  so  coarse ; 
She  wept  and  she  frowned,  and  in  order  to  pout 
She  entered  a  cave  and  refused  to  come  out ; 
But  shutting  herself  in  an  adamant  tomb, 
She  left  the  poor  world  in  the  deepest  of  gloom. 

The  gods  tried  to  coax  the  bright  one  to  come  out ; 
They  built  her  a  palace  both  ample  and  stout; 
They  made  for  her  jewels  and  beautiful  clothes, 
And  also  a  mirror  her  charms  to  disclose ; 
When  all  things  were  ready,  they  gathered  before 
The  mouth  of  her  cavern,  with  adamant  door ; 
They  played  upon  instruments,  one  danced  and  sung, 
The  others  all  shouted  till  the  heavens  rung. 

The  sun-goddess  wondered  on  hearing  their  glee, 
How  could  they  rejoice  and  she  absent.     To  see 
The  cause  of  their  mirth,  she  peeped  out  of  the  door, 
And  saw  in  the  mirror,  which  one  held  before, 
Her  own  lovely  face ;  ne'er  before  were  such  charms 
Revealed  by  a  mirror ;  a  god  with  strong  arrns 
Held  open  the  door  of  the  cavern,  and  then 
They  led  out  the  goddess  to  daylight  again. 

The  gods  to  her  brother  gave  punishment  dire ; 
They  plucked  every  hair  from  his  head  in  their  ire ; 
They  pulled  out  the  nails  from  his  fingers  and  toes ; 
And  banished  the  wretch  to  the  kingdom  of  woes. 
The  sun-goddess  never  again  hid  her  light; 
She  shines  save  when  sleeping,  which  causes  the  night. 
Her  sister  called  Tsuki  instead  then  holds  sway, 
Till  cocks  by  their  crowing  awaken  the  day. 


THE    SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN.  55 


AN  AFTERNOON  TEA  EOR  MEN. 


How  queer  it  seems,  a  tea  for  men  ! 
It  does  seem  rather  strange,  but  then 
All  things  were  strange  in  old  Japan, 
And  that's  where  teas  like  this  began, 
Six  hundred  years  or  so  ago. 

The  tea  was  picked  in  early  spring, 
When  things  are  fresh,  and  gay  birds  sing 
Their  sweetest  songs  ;  then  stored  away 
In  jars  until  the  proper  day, 
Six  hundred  years  or  so  ago. 

They  spoke  of  literature  and  art, 
Made  poems,  each  one  taking  part, 
But  never  gossiped  o'er  their  tea; 
They  set  the  pace  for  you  and  me, 
Six  hundred  years  or  so  ago. 

All  sipped  the  tea  from  one  fair  bowl, 
A  fragrant  font,  where  soul  met  soul  ; 
'Twas  like  communion  in  Japan; 
And  that's  where  teas  like  this  began, 
Six  hundred  years  or  so  ago. 


56  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


THE    THUNDER   GOD. 


The  thunder  god  rides  on  the  cloud, 
And  plays  upon  his  arch  of  drums, 

Producing  music  soft  or  loud  ; 

And  as  he  strikes,  there  often  comes 

A  flash  of  vivid,  blinding  light, 

Which  turns  to  day  the  darksome  night. 


MASAMUNE'S    SWORDS. 


Masamune  hated  pelf, 

But  he  welded  his  own  self 

Into  every  shining  blade 

That  he  made. 

True  as  steel  in  which  he  wrought, 

Pure  as  dew  in  every  thought, 

He  impressed  upon  his  art 

His  own  heart. 


The   Thunder   God. 


THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN.  57 


Masamune's  weapons  gleam 
Like  a  flashing  mountain  stream, 
While  upon  their  edge  a  haze 
Ever  plays, 

Making  those  who  but  behold 
Shiver,  for  the  blood  runs  cold, 
Even  in  the  warmest  days, 
When  they  gaze. 

In  the  hands  of  sons  of  Mars 
They  will  cut  through  iron  bars, 
Yet  remain  unnicked,  unscarred, 
Quite  unmarred. 
His  of  all  swords  are  the  best, 
As  is  proved  by  every  test, 
That  can  possibly  be  made 
Of  a  blade. 

Stand  a  Masamune  sword 

In  a  brook,  upon  a  ford, 

Let  the  edge  but  slightly  lean 

'Gainst  the  stream; 

Then  a  straw  upon  the  tide 

It  will  certainly  divide, 

If  it  strikes  the  weapon  true, 

Into  two. 


58  THE;  SPIRIT  OF  JAPAN. 


THE    SAMURAI'S    CHILDREN. 


When  but  five,  they  say, 
"  He  must  learn  the  way 

Of  his  fathers,  the  Samurai, 
Whether  sunshine  or  rain, 
He  must  never  complain, 

He's  the  son  of  a  Samurai." 
On   a  large  checkerboard 
He  is  stood,  and  a  sword 

Is  placed  in  his  little  hand  ; 
Thus  his  heart  is  steeled, 
And  he  learns  to  wield 

The  sword  for  his  native  land. 

Every  Samurai  knows 
That  with  heavy  blows 

On  the  anvil  his  sword  was  made  ; 
That  the  heat  and  the  cold 
Were  both  needed  to  mold 

And  to  temper  the  trusty  blade; 
And  the  Samurai  knows, 
That  his  boy  needs  the  blows 

Dealt  by  fortune,  to  make  him  strong  ; 
Both  the  heat  and  the  cold, 
Are  required  for  the  bold, 

Who  would  battle  against  the  wrong. 


THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN.  59 


With  his  little  feet  bare, 
To  the  cold  winter  air, 

He  must  go  to  his  daily  tasks ; 
And  not  many  the  sweets, 
And  still  fewer  the  treats, 

That  the  Samurai's  boy  dares  to  ask ; 
But  the  sword  by  his  side 
Is  his  glory  and  pride, 

For  he  thinks  of  it  as  of  his  soul ; 
And  the  sword  must  be  bright, 
And  employed  for  the  right, 

And  kept  under  most  perfect  control. 

To  the  Samurai's  lass 
There  is  given  a  glass, 

A  bright  mirror  which  answers  her  true ; 
And  the  maid  must  be  sure 
To  be  modest  and  pure, 

Never  minding  what  others  may  do ; 
And  a  keen  dagger  bright 
Is  concealed  from  the  sight, 

In  her  bosom;  'tis  better  to  die, 
Than  to  have  any  stain 
On  her  family  name; 

'Tis  the  way  of  the  Samurai. 


6O  TH£   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

THE   WIND   GOD. 


The  wind  god  carries  on  his  back 
The  various  winds  held  in  a  sack; 

The  ends  in  his  great  fists  he  grasps; 
He  gives  them  exit,  fast  or  slow, 
And  regulates  the  winds  that  blow, 

From  zephyrs  to  the  raging  blasts. 


A  JAPANESE  NOBLEMAN'S  DREAM. 

* 

In  youth  there  came  to  me  an  awful  dream, 

Which  left  its  impress  on  my  later  years ; 
To  me,  in  that  night-vision  it  did  seem 

I  wandered  in  the  gloomy  vale  of  tears ; 
The  path  was  wet  and  slimy;  on  each  side 

Were  pitfalls,  yawning  like  the  mouths  of  hell ; 
And  pretty  soon  my  feet  began  to  slide 

From  under  me,  and  into  one  I  fell ; 
I  landed  at  the  bottom  of  the  pit, 

Which  seemed  a  den  of  foul  and  hissing  snakes. 
The  writhing  reptiles  at  each  other  bit, 

At  very  thought  of  which  my  spirit  quakes ; 


The   Wind   God. 


THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN.  6l 


There  seemed  to  be  one  way  of  getting  out, 

And  that  was  furnished  by  a  sturdy  vine, 
Which  from  above  sent  down  a  section  stout, 

And  seizing  this,  I  soon  began  to  climb ; 
On  lifting  up  my  eyes,  I  saw  a  rat 

Engaged  in  gnawing  at  my  living  rope ; 
I  knew  my  danger,  but  I  argued  that 

I  would  have  time,  and  so  was  full  of  hope ; 
When  half  way  up,  I  saw,  to  my  surprise, 

Some  luscious  fruit  dependent  from  the  vine ; 
It  seemed  so  sweet  and  tempting  to  my  eyes, 

I  gathered  some,  and  thus  delayed  a  time. 
But  while  I  stopped,  the  vine  was  cut  in  twain 

By  that  vile  rodent,  with  his  chisel  teeth, 
And  down  I  tumbled  in  the  pit  again ; 

And  gone  were  now  all  chances  of  relief. 
I  woke,  the  sweat  was  standing  on  my  brow, 

Which  came  from  horror  of  that  awful  dream ; 
The  dreadful  vision  haunts  me  even  now; 

I  tried  to  reason  out  what  it  might  mean ; 
I  plainly  saw,  that  if  I  wished  to  climb 

To  higher  places  in  life's  rugged  way, 
I  must  not  stop,  and  waste  my  precious  time, 

Though  pleasure  tempt  me  with  her  fruit  to  stay. 
So  for  my  life  I  made  a  stringent  rule, 

When  urged  to  taste  her  fruit,  to  answer,  "  No !" 
In  doing  this  I  have  not  played  the  fool, 

But  reached  a  high  position,  as  you  know. 


62  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

SUSANO  KILLS  THE  DRAGON. 


From  the  mountains  there  came, 
In  pursuit  of   fair  game, 

A  fierce  dragon  of  wonderful  size  ; 
Not  content  with  one  pate, 
This  huge  monster  had  eight, 

Bestudded  with  great  fiery  eyes. 

By  the  dragon  appalled, 
They  Susano  recalled 

To  protect  them  from  their  dreaded  foe  ; 
Which  devoured  all  the  maids 
In  his  desperate  raids, 

And  so  filled  the  whole  country  with  woe. 

Unlike  Hercules  strong, 

Or  St.  George  famed  in  song, 

Not  with  arms  did  he  conquer  the  foe  ; 
But  with  Sake  instead, 
A  great  jar  for  each  head, 

Eight  large  vessels  set  out  in  a  row. 

Soon  the  beast  came  and  drank; 
In  a  stupor  he  sank, 

Quite  unable  himself  to  defend; 
He  was  easily  slain, 
To  the  nation's  great  gain, 

'Twas  through  Sake  he  came  to  his  end. 

From  the  tip  of  his  tail, 
With  its  coating  of  mail, 

There  protruded  a  wonderful  sword 
Of  most  marvelous  strength, 
This  was  given  at  length 

To  the  sun-goddess,  whom  all  adored. 


Susano   Kills  the   Dragon. 


THE:  SPIRIT  OF  JAPAN.  63 

JAPANESE  DREAMS  OF  THE  HOMELAND. 


The  beauty  of  the  Inland  Sea, 

Bestudded  with  its  lovely  isles, 
Is  ever  in  our  memory, 

Though  distant,  now,  five  thousand  miles  ; 
Brave  Fuji  San,  that  guards  the  coast, 

And  blessed  our  eyes  far  out  at  sea; 
'Tis  hard  to  tell  what  charmed  us  most, 

Where  all  so  lovely  seemed  to  be. 

When  cherry  blossoms  in  the  spring 

Their  witchery  of  beauty  spread, 
And  happy  feathered  songsters  sing 

Their  sweetest  carols  overhead, 
In  summer  when  azaleas  blow, 

And  beautify  the  mountain-side, 
We  think  of  thee  where'er  we  go  ; 

Thy  memories  with  us  abide. 

When  frost  comes  stealing  in  the  night 

To  kiss  the  graceful  maple  leaves, 
Which  blush  to  scarlet,  then  how  bright 

The  glens  appear;  Oh,  how  it  grieves 
Us  to  be  absent  from  our  home,, 

The  land  we  love  across  the  sea  ; 
No  matter  where  our  feet  may  roam, 

Our  hearts  are  constantly  with  thee. 


64  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

THE  EMPEROR'S  THREE  TREASURES. 
« 

The  soil  of  Nippon,  by  the  gods 

Was  trodden  for  a  time; 
And  so  made  sacred  by  the  feet 

Of  those  who  were  divine; 
At  length  from  Kirishima's  ridge, 
They  step  upon  the  swinging  bridge, 

And  so  to  heaven  climb. 

The  bridge  was  lifted  very  soon, 

And  carried  far  away; 
Direct  communication  ceased 

With  heaven  from  that  day. 
Then  one  was  from  their  number  sent, 
Who,  in  their  stead,  should  represent 

The  gods  of  early  sway. 

Three  treasures  had  the  sun-goddess, — 

A  mirror,  sword  and  seal. 
The  first  was  made  by  hands  divine, 

From  heaven's  burnished  steel; 
The  seal,  which  curious  art  displayed, 
Was  from  a  stony  substance  made, 

But  very  smooth  to  feel. 

The  sword  was  from  the  dragon's  tail, 

The  monster  as  you  know, 
With  eight  huge  heads,  and  which  was  slain 

By  valiant  Susano. 

The  sun-goddess  these  treasures  three 
Gave  to  her  grandson  Ninigi, 

Who  then  came  down  below. 


THE   SPIRIT  OF   JAPAN.  65 

And  so  to  earth  these  treasures  came 

With  Ninigi  divine, 
To  be  the  heritage  of  each 

In  the  Imperial  line, 
Unbroken  from  that  early  day, 
When  o'er  Japan  the  gods  held  sway, 

Until  the  present  time. 


JAPANESE  ART. 


'Tis  said  that  Yoshitsune  had  a  very  ugly  face  ; 

'Twas  pitted  from  the  small-pox,  but  his  heart  was  full 

of  grace  ; 

A  lover  of  sweet  music,  and  a  patron  of  fine  art  ; 
And  every  little  duty  he  performed  with  all  his  heart. 

But  Benkei,  his  retainer,  who  was  handsome  as  could  be 

In  features,  but  his  spirit,  as  any  one  can  see 

Who  reads  his  story,  was  untamed  and  rash  and  heedless, 

too; 
He  always  was  impatient  in  the  work  he  had  to  do. 

So  artists  in  Mikado's  land  paint  Yoshitsune  fair 
And  handsome,  while  poor  Benkei  is  always  made  to  bear 
The  marks  of  ugliness.     The  spirit  hidden  in  the  breast 
Is  painted,  not  externals,  and  perhaps  this  way  is  best. 


66  THE    SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


THE  EMPEROR'S  BIRTH-DAY. 

(Observed   in   San  Francisco.) 


Hail,  the  Emperor's  natal  day  ! 

Let  the  happy  bells  all  ring  ! 
While  his  loyal  subjects  say, 

In  their  joy:  "Long  live  the  King! 

Banzai  !  Banzai  !  Banzai  !" 

Fling  the  banners  to  the  breeze  ! 

Throw  aside  all  vexing  care! 
Sweetest  flowers  adorn  the  trees, 

Mingle  incense  with  our  prayer  ! 

"  Banzai  !  Banzai  !  Banzai  !" 

On  this  distant  western  shore 
We  would  not  forget  the  birth 

Of  the  one  whom  we  adore, 

But  exclaim  with  heart-felt  mirth, 
"Banzai!  Banzai!  Banzai!" 

Happy  is  Mikado's  Realm, 
Safely  sails  the  ship  of  state 

While  our  Tenno  holds  the  helm. 
Echo  from  the  Golden  Gate, 
"  Banzai  !  Banzai  !  Banzai  !" 


THE    SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN.  67 

EARTHQUAKES. 


The  lovely  land  of  Yamato 
Is  charming,  but  concealed  below 
Are  awful  caverns  dark  and  deep, 
In  which  the  mighty  dragons  sleep; 
Their  slumbers  often  troubled  seem 
By  restlessness  or  frightful  dream, 
And  waking  with  a  thunderous  snore, 
They  shake  the  land  from  shore  to  shore. 


NATURE  WORSHIP. 


The  Shinto  gods  are  deities 

Of  nature  ;  this  is  why 
The  Japanese  who  worship  these 

Have  reverence  for  the  sky 
And  hills  and  valleys,  woods  and  sea, 
Which  thrills  their  souls  with  poetry. 

All  nature   to  the  Japanese 

In  sacred  language  speaks, 
Through  lakes  and  flowers,  birds  and  trees, 

And  lofty  mountain  peaks; 
So  those  who  gaze  on  Fuji's  crest 
Have  thoughts  that  cannot  be  expressed. 


68  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

JAPANESE    WALL    DECORATIONS. 


Their  pictures  are  the  language  of  their  minds  ; 

In  winter,  when  oppressed  by  leaden  skies, 
And  from  the  snowy  peaks  blow  chilly  winds, 

They  pla'ce  a  bit  of  spring  before  their  eyes, 
Such  as  a  flowering  plum  with  nightingale, 

Which  means  that  brighter  days  are  coming  soon, 
When  Philomela  will  repeat  his  tale 

Of  unrequited  love  unto  the  moon. 

When  spring  has  come,  they  think  of  summer  days  ; 

Before  their  eyes  they  hang  a  summer  scene  ; 
In  summer,  golden  autumn  meets  their  gaze  ; 

Some  scarlet  maples  standing  by  a  stream  ; 
In  autumn,  Fujiyama,  crowned  with  snow, 

Adorns  the  wall  :  the  year  will  soon  be  done, 
And  soon  will  come  again  the  time  to  sow. 

Their  minds  are  ever  running  on  before 

The  season,  dreaming  of  a  coming  day, 
And  living  in  the  future  more  than  now  ; 

And  this  to  them  appears  the  proper  way  ; 
Just  as  in  western  lands,  the  merchants  show 

The  goods  of  spring,  while  winter  still  is  here  ; 
And  summer  things  in  spring,  for  well  they  know, 

The  mind  is  running  on  before  the  year. 


Earthquakes. 


THE:  SPIRIT  OF  JAPAN.  69 


THE  SEVENTH  NIGHT. 


The  gentle  maidens  of  Japan, 

Upon  the  seventh  night 
Of  what  was  called  the  seventh  month, 

Indulged  in  fancies  bright; 
On  either  side  the  heavenly  tide 

We  call  the  milky  way, 
Two  stars  that  glow,  together  flow, 

Upon  the  seventh,  they  say. 

The  morning-glory  one  is  called, 

And  one  the  weaver  star, 
To  honor  these,  small  bamboo  trees 

Were  set  up,  near  and  far  ; 
And  lovely  maidens  tried  to  tell, 

On  colored  papers  bright, 
The  longings  of  their  gentle  hearts, 

Upon  the  seventh  night. 

In  olden  times,  instead  of  rhymes, 

They  hung  up  colored  thread, 
As  offering  to  the  weaver  star; 

While  fruits  were  given  instead 
To  morning-glory.     So  the  maids 

Indulged  in  fancies  bright, 
And  wrote  their  lines  in  simple  rhymes, 

Upon  the  seventh  night. 


THE;  SPIRIT  OF  JAPAN. 


JAPANESE  FAVORITES— Flowers,  Trees  and  Birds. 


THE   PLUM. 


The  hardy  plum  is  first  to  come 

Of  all  the  flowers  of  spring  ; 
It  seems  so  bold  to  brave  the  cold, 

That  poets  love  to  sing 
Of  these  brave  trees  ;  to  Japanese 

The  path  they  seem  to  show 
To  victory.     They  love  the  tree 

That  blooms  amid  the  snow. 


The  Plum. 


m 


FLOWERS,  TREKS  AND  BIRDS.  71 

THE  LOTUS. 


Just  notice  where  the  lotus 

In  its  chastened  beauty  grows ; 
Yet  opens  in  the  sunlight, 

Pure  as  Fugi's  driven  snows ; 
In  spite  of  its  surroundings, 

Growing  in  the  stagnant  pond, 
It  is  so  wonderfully  pure 

That  Japanese  are  fond 
Of  lotus  flowers,  because  they  say 

In  words  of  sweet  content: 
"  You,  too,  may  be  as  pure  as  we, 

In  your  environment." 


The  Lotus. 


THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


MORNING-GLORIES. 


'Tis  said  that  morning-glories  make 
A  little  noise  when  they  awake, 
And  open  first  their  lovely  eyes, 
To  greet  the  sun  in  eastern  skies. 

The  children  of  the  Japanese, 

Who  love  all  kinds  of  flowers  and  trees, 

Arise  before  the  morning  sun, 

To  hear  them  open  one  by  one. 

A  little  note  from  flowery  horn 
Announces  that  the  day  is  born  ; 
The  Sunrise  Kingdom's  sunrise  flower 
Is  cherished  both  in  heart  and  bower. 


Morning-Glories. 


The   Seventh    Ninht. 


FLOWERS,  TREES  AND  BIRDS. 


THE   CHRYSANTHEMUM. 


Chrysanthemums,  of  all  the  flowers, 

Are  in  Japan  most  dear, 
Because  they,  like  a  rear-ward  guard, 

Come  latest  in  the  year. 
When  other  flowers  have  fled  away, 

They  cover  the  retreat ; 
And  help  to  make  the  autumn  gay, 

Though  not  so  very  sweet. 


The   Chrysanthemum. 


74  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

THE  CHERRY. 


The  cherry  is  grown  for  beauty  alone; 

The  fruit  that  is  left  behind 
Is  bitter  and  small,  and  not  eaten  at  all  ; 

The  petals  that  whirl  in  the  wind 
Like  beauiful  snow,  seem  to  say  as  they  go, 

When  called  by  each  summoning  blast  : 
"A  lesson  we  give  to  people  who  live, 

That  beauty  like  ours  will  not  last." 

Long  ages  ago,  in  old  Yamato, 

These  blossoms  that  quickly  fall, 
Taught  brave  Samurai  to  be  ready  to  die 

At  once,  at  their  master's  call; 
To  die  by  the  sword  for  their  feudal  lord  ; 

So  cherries,  wherever  they  blow, 
With  fragrance  they  fill  the  air,  while  they  thrill 

The  spirit  of  Yamato. 


The  Cherry. 


FLOWERS,   TREES   AND   BIRDS.  75 

THE  BAMBOO. 


The  bamboo  is  a  favorite, 

Because  it  grows  so  high 
And  straight,  with  joints  so  regular 

Into  the  azure  sky. 
The  Japanese  learn  from  these  trees 

The  way  they  ought  to  grow,  — 
Upright  and  systematic,  spite 

Of  all  the  winds  that  blow. 

In  winter-time,  a  load  of  snow 

It  gracefully  upbears  ; 
It  bends,  but  soon  springs  back  to  show 

Men  how  to  bear  their  cares  ; 
Though  light  and  airy,  yet  it  plays 

A  most  important  part; 
And  sets  a  good  example,  both 

In  usefulness  and  art. 


The  Bamboo. 


76 


THE   SPIRIT   01?   JAPAN. 


THE  PINE. 


Notice  how  the  pine  trees  grow, 
Even  'mid  the  mountain  snow, 
Growing  straight  up  to  the  sky; 
This  explains  the  reason  why 
Sentimental  Japanese 
So  admire  these  noble  trees. 

Heeding  not  the  winter's  cold, 
Ever  green  and  never  old, 
Springing  from  uneven  ground, 
Growing  straight  wherever  found  ; 
Sentimental  Japanese 
Wish  to  imitate  these  trees. 


The    Pine. 


FLOWERS,  TREES  AND  BIRDS. 


77 


THE  NIGHTINGALE. 


You  should  hear  in  the  spring' 
The  nightingales  sing, 

At  the  time  when  the  plum  trees  bloom  ; 
On  a  sweet  blossom  spray 
One  will  perch,  while  its  lay 

Is  addressed  to  the  silvery  moon. 

It  is  easy,  we  say, 
To  be  cheerful  by  day, 

Then  the  heart  is  naturally  light; 
But  how  few,  like  this  bird, 
When  in  darkness,  are  heard, 

To  sing  in  the  midst  of  the  night. 


The  Nightingale. 


SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


THE  LARK. 


The  lark  flies  up  to  meet  the  day, 
He  mounts  to  talk  with  heaven,  to  pray ; 
At  least  that's  what  the  people  say. 
On  seeing  him  ascend  the  skies : 
Our  human  aspirations  rise 
To  what  lies  hidden  from  our  eyes. 


The    Lark. 


FLOWERS,    TREES   AND   BIRDS.  79 

THE  SWALLOW. 


If  one  should  kill  a  swallow 
Some  harm  would  surely  follow; 

The  people  call  them  messengers  divine. 
They  build  against  the  walls 
Of  chambers  and  of  halls 

Their  nests  of  clay,  where'er  they  may  incline. 

The  gods  would,  in  their  ire, 
Consume  one's  house  with  fire, 

If  one  should  harm  these  servants  of  the  skies  ; 
These  birds  have  naught  to  fear, 
For  people  hold  them  dear; 

Their  visits  seem  like  angels'  in  disguise. 

These  birds  that  swiftly  fly 
Are  welcomed.     Farmers  vie 

In  building  little  shelters  for  their  nests; 
For  country  people  know 
How  many  things  that  grow 

Are  saved  by  swallows  from  the  insect  pests. 


8o 


THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


THE  HOTOTOGISU. 


From  the  spirit  land,  in  the  month  of  May, 
Comes  the  hototogisu,  which  seems  to  say, 
In  his  peculiar  birdlike  way, 

Which  the  farmers  understand: 
"  It  is  time,  good  people,  to  plant  your  grain." 
To  others  he  seems  to  be  telling  his  name, 
Which  is  Hototogisu,  the  same  as  the  strain 

That  he  learned  in  the  spirit  land. 


The   Hototogisu. 


,    TREES   AND   BIRDS. 


8l 


THE  CRANE. 


We  read  about  a  time, 

When  it  was  thought  a  crime 

To  kill  a  crane,  and  any  one  who  did, 
Paid  forfeit  with  his  life, 
Unless  he  left  his  wife 

And  home,  and  quickly  fled  away  and  hid. 

The  crane  is  pure  in  life, 
And  faithful  to  one  wife, 

Not  choosing  for  himself  another  mate  ; 
He  lives  a  thousand  years  ; 
A  Japanese  reveres 

This  bird  and  keeps  him  in  a  kind  state. 


The   Crane. 


82 


THE)   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


THE  POMEGRANATE. 


When  the  pomegranate  gapes, 

It  reveals  its  heart  ; 
So  every  jackanapes, 

When  his  lips  do  part, 
Reveals  his  secret  thought, 

Which  to  hide  were  art." 

So  say  the  Samurai. 


The  Pomegranate. 


1-XOWKRS,    TRIBES   AND   BIRDS.  83 

THE   WILLOW. 


The  willow  is  a  tree  that  yields  ; 

It  bends  but  does  not  break  ; 
The  Japanese  admire  these  trees 

For  this  ;  they  try  to  make 
Their  women  see,  and  long  to  be 

Like  willows  by  the  lake. 


OUR  ATTITUDE. 


Let  us,  too,  learn  of  nature, 

Like  aesthetic  Japanese, 
And  find  more  moral  lessons 

In  our  cherished  flowers  and  trees 
More  bravery  in  sturdy  oaks 

And  ever-verdant  pines; 
More  modesty  in  violets, 

More  love  in  clinging  vines. 


84  THE   SPIRIT  OF  JAPAN. 


REVERENCE  FOR  AGE. 


The  crane,  the  tortoise  and  pine  tree 

Are  all  extolled  in  song; 
The  reason  seems  to  chiefly  be 

Because  they  live  so  long. 
Old  age  is  reverenced  everywhere 

Beyond  the  western  seas ; 
A  fitting  honor  for  gray  hair 

Is  shown  by  Japanese. 


SillmQ 


PART    THIRD 


CONTENTS  OF  PART  THIRD. 
* 

SONGS  OF  THE  SUNRISE  KINGDOM. 

Urashima  87 

The  Prize  Poem 91 

The  Farmer  and  the  Looking  Glass 92 

Daruma   94 

Quid  Pro  Quo 95 

Araki,  the  Fencer 96 

The  Three  Travelers 99 

Ikkyu,  the  Buddhist  Sage 103 

A  Japanese  Belle 104 

Adventures  of  Hayakawa 105 

Kano,  the  Lightning  Artist 108 

The  Magic  Fans 109 

Sayonara  l12 


Urashima. 


UNIVERSITY 
or 


PART    THIRD 


SONGS  of  the  SUNRISE  KINGDOM 


URASHIMA. 


Long  ago,  in  Hinomoto, 

In  the  empire  of  Mikado, 

Long  before  the  reign  of  Shoguns, 

Lived  a  lad  called  Urashima ; 

Urashima,   meaning   island, 

Little  islands  off  the  main  shore. 

Urashima  loved  the  ocean, 
Loved  to  hear  it  singing  mildly, 
Loved  to  see  it  dashing  wildly, 
Called  it  Haha,  meaning  mother, 
Said  he  was  the  ocean's  offspring, 
Happy  on  its  heaving  bosom. 

Strong  of  limb  grew  Urashima, 
Trained  in  every  manly  calling ; 
Skillfully  he  learned  to  manage 
His  frail  craft  in  stormy  weather ; 
Skillfully  he  learned  to  gather 
Harvests  from  the  rolling  waters. 


THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

One  fair  morning,  Urashima 

Rowed  his  little  boat,  his  fune, 

Out  upon  the  shining  waters, 

While  the  breeze,  umi-no-kaze, 

Fanned  his  cheeks  and  kissed  his  forehead, 

And  the  ocean  rocked  him  gently. 

Far  from  shore  his  oars  he  rested, 
Then  he  dropped  his  hook  all  baited 
Down  into  the  clear  blue  water, 
Deeper,  deeper,  till  he  felt  it 
Catch  on  something  that  resisted 
All  his  efforts  to  release  it. 

Off  he  threw  his  outer  garment, 
In  his  language  called  Kimono, 
Then  into  the  ocean  diving 
Like  a  fish,  he  swam  to  loosen 
From  the  rocks  his  fishing  tackle, 
Down  and  down  his  line  he  followed. 

When  at  last  he  reached  the  bottom, 
Great  his  wonder  on  beholding 
There  a  palace  built  of  coral, 
Roofed  with  pearly  shells  that  glistened ; 
In  the  garden  bloomed  strange  flowers, 
Such  as  seen  on  earth  are  never. 

'Twas  the  palace  Ryu-gu-jo, 
In  the  kingdom  of  Ryu-gu. 
All  the  fishes  are  his  subjects, 
All  the  finny  tribes  obey  him, 
Do  his  errands,  pay  him  tribute, 
Gathered  from  the  spoils. of  ocean. 


SONGS  OF  THE:  KINGDOM.  89 

At  the  gate  of  this  strange  castle 
Stood  the  fair  ones,  noble  ladies, 
Beckoning  to  Urashima, 
Welcoming  him  to  the  palace, 
Welcoming  the  son  of  ocean, 
To  the  world  beneath  the  waters. 

Into  the  great  hall  they  led  him, 
Where  they  spread  for  him  a  banquet, 
Making  merry  at  his  coming; 
And  the  king,  the  great  Ryu-o 
Gave  to  him  his  only  daughter, 
Made  him  heir  to  all  his  kingdom. 

Swiftly,  like  a  weaver's  shuttle, 
Sped  the  happy  days  uncounted, 
In  that  under  world  enchanted, 
In  the  palace  of  the  sea  king, 
Where  'mid  every  kind  of  pleasure, 
Lived  our  hero  free  from  trouble. 

But  at  last  he  felt  a  longing 
Once  again  to  see  his  village ; 
See  again  the  well-known  faces 
Of  the  people  on  the  seashore ; 
Breathe  the  air  above  the  waters, 
Hear  again  the  land  birds  singing. 

Vainly  did  his  wife,  the  princess, 
Importune  him  not  to  leave  her ; 
But  when  she  could  not  persuade  him, 
She  a  little  casket  gave  him, 
Bidding  him  to  keep  it  safely, 
But  to  never  look  within  it. 


9O  THE    SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

To  the  shore  went  Urashima, 
Riding  on  a  great  sea  turtle ; 
Safe  he  reached  his  native  village. 
He  was  young  and  strong  of  body 
As  he  was  the  morn  he  left  it 
On  his  very  strange  adventure. 

Much  he  wondered  at  not  seeing 
Any  face  that  he  remembered ; 
Much  he  wondered  upon  hearing 
All  of  those  who  once  had  loved  him, 
With  the  dead  had  long  been  numbered, 
In  the  graveyard  all  now  slumbered. 

Then  he  asked  of  Urashima, 
Whether  any  one  remembered 
Him.     Some  answered,  their  ancestors 
Told  them  of  one,  Urashima, 
How  he  rowed  out  on  the  ocean, 
And  they  never  more  had  seen  him. 

In  his  grief,  poor  Urashima, 

Heeding  not,  unclasped  the  casket. 

Out  there  flew  a  purple  spirit ; 

Lines  of  beauty  changed  to  wrinkles ; 

Limbs  of  strength  grew  old  and  trembling; 

And  his  hair  turned  white  as  hoar-frost. 

To  this  day  the  fishing  people, 

In  the  kingdom  of  Mikado, 

Say  there  is  another  kingdom 

At  the  bottom  of  the  ocean ; 

And  when  waves  are  beating  wildly, 

Say  the  king  below  is  angry. 


SONGS   OF   THE   KINGDOM.  9! 

THE  PRIZE  POEM. 


A  certain  bonze,  who  had  beneath  his  care 

Three  students  for  the  priesthood,  at  one  time, 

To  stimulate  them,  offered  a  large  pear 

To  that  one  who  should  write  the  finest  rhyme. 

"  The  subject/'  said  the  bonze  "  may  puzzle  you, 
Yet  if  you  wish  to  win  this  luscious  pear, 

Please  tell  me  what  you  wish  to  cut  in  two, 
And  yet,  for  some  good  reason,  always  spare  ?" 

The  first  youth,  being  sentimental,  said, 

"  The  plum  branch,  decked  with  blossoms    wondrous 

fair, 
That  hides  the  moon,  by  swaying  o'er  my  head; 

I  long  to  cut  it,  yet  I  always  spare."  4 

The  second  wrote,  "  This  brush,  a  gift  from  you, 
Composed  of  bamboo  and  of  camel's  hair, 

Is  much  too  long,  and  should  be  cut  in  two, 
But  when  I  think  of  him  who  gave,  I  spare." 

The  third  lad  was  a  rogue,  and  so  he  wrote  : 
'*  The  one  that  grudges  to  me  one  poor  pear, 

The  thing  that  I  would  cut  is  not  his  coat, 

But  head  from  off  his  shoulders,  yet  I  spare." 

The  angry  bonze  the  pear  hurled  at  his  head  ; 

The  youth  was  quick,  and  raised  his  hand  in  time 
To  catch  it,  when  he  most  politely  said, 

"  Thank  you,  good  father,  so  the  prize  is  mine  ''. 


92  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

THE  FARMER  AND  THE  LOOKING-GLASS. 


In  old  Yedo,  now  Tokyo, 

A  farmer  chanced  to  pass 
A  shop  and  see  what  seemed  to  be 

His  father  in  a  glass. 

Within  a  frame,  and  just  the  same 

As  twenty  years  before, 
With  visage   mild,   the    father   smiled 

To  see  his  son  once  more. 

The  farmer  then  exchanged  some  yen 
For  this  strange  foreign  thing, 

Which  had  the  power,  at  any  hour, 
His  father  back  to  bring. 

With  heart  content,  he  homeward  went, 

And  hid  his  shining  prize 
From  the  young  wife  who  shared  his  life  ; 

This  was  not  very  wise. 

But  secretly  he  went  to  see 

His  father  morn  and  eve  ; 
This  was  no  sin,  but  right  of  him, 

And  yet  he  did  deceive. 

She  found  him  out,  and  full  of  doubt, 
She  looked  within  the  drawer; 

And  seeing  there  a  woman  fair, 
Her  peace  of  mind  was  o'er. 


Daruma. 


SONGS   OF   THE    KINGDOM.  93 

When  he  returned,  with  words  that  burned, 

She  charged  him  with  the  crime 
Of  double  life,  keeping  a  wife 

In  secret,  all  the  time. 

A  Buddhist  nun,  who  chanced  to  come 

That  way,  was  passing  by; 
She  overheard  the  angry  word, 

And  tried  to  pacify. 

"  He  tries  to  hide  another  bride!" 

The  outraged  woman  cries ; 
"  But  I've  found  out,  what  he's  about; 

I've  seen  her  with  my  eyes." 

"  It  is  my  sire !"  he  cried  with  ire, 

"  I  keep  him  in  that  place, 
And  every  day  I  go  to  pray, 

And  gaze  upon  his  face." 

The  nun  leaned  o'er  the  open  drawer, 

And  saw  what  none  had  seen. 
She  saw  instead,  with  shaven  head, 

A  nun  with  solemn  mien. 

"  You  must  forgive,  for  as  I  live, 

The  woman  is  a  nun ; 
She  in  this  way  attempts  to  pay 

For  wrong  that  she  has  done." 

At  last  the  three  looked  in  to  see, 

And  found  each  other  there. 
The  looking-glass,  alas!  alas! 

Had  proved  a  wicked  snare. 


94  TH£   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

DARUMA. 
* 

'Tis  said  that  Daruma,  the  Buddhist  sage. 
Some  fourteen  hundred  years  or  so  ago, 

From  India  came  to  China,  to  engage 

In  teaching  Chinese  what  they  ought  to  know, 
To  reach  Nirvana,  land  of  dreamless  sleep. 

The  sage  sat  cross-legged,  motionless,  until 
Some  birds  lit  on  his  head,  and  built  a  nest 

Within  his  hair ;  he  sat  so  very  still, 

The  grass  grew  on  his  shoulders  and  his  breast ; 
His  eyes  were  closed  in  meditation  deep. 

For  nine  long  years  he  never  stirred  a  limb, 
And  all  the  earthly  passion  in  him  died ; 

His  soul,  by  contemplation  freed  from  sin, 
Arose  to  higher  regions,  purified. 
Some  say  the  sage's  body  turned  to  stone. 

Thus,  even  now,  some  people  in  Japan 
In  meditation  spend  some  time  each  day, 

Like  Daruma,  and  follow  out  his  plan 
To  purify  the  soul,  and  take  away 
The  love  of  earth,  and  for  their  sins  atone. 


SONGS  OF  THE  KINGDOM.  95 


QUID  PRO  QUO. 


There  is  a  story  in  Japan 
About  a  certain  stingy  man, 

Who  loved  with  all  his  heart 
To  feast  upon  a  dish  of  eels, 
And  yet  he  would  not  for  such  meals 

Consent  with  cash  to  part. 

-So  every  day  he  brought  his  dish 
Of  rice  to  where  the  frying  fish 

Sent  forth  a  savory  smell; 
He  closed  his  eyes,  and  in  his  mind 
Was  eating  eels.     Some  people  find 

Such  methods  work  quite  well. 

The  restaurator  made  a  bill, 

And  charged  for  odors  rare  that  filL 

The  air  for  rods  around. 
The  stingy  man  took  out  his  cash 
And  threw  them  down,  and  by  the  crash 

He  paid  for  smell  with  sound. 


96  THB   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

ARAKI,  THE  FENCER. 


There  was  a  man  named  Araki, 

Two  hundred  years  ago, 
Who  very  skillful  proved  to  be 

In  use  of  sword  and  bow  ; 
And  through  the  country,  far  and  wide, 
His  name  was  known  on  every  side, 

And  dreaded  by  the  foe. 

Araki  was  a  man  possessed 
Of  heart  both  kind  and  true. 

One  time  unconsciously  he  pressed 
A  frog  beneath  his  shoe. 

*  Forgive  me,  little  frog,"  said  he, 

"  You  were  so  small  I  could  not  see, 
And  so  have  injured  you." 

And  yet  this  Samurai  had  slain, 

One  time  in  open  fight, 
Full  forty  men,  who  'gainst  him  came. 

He  vanquished  every  knight 
Who  fought  with  him.     He  only  tried 
To  put  down  wrong  on  every  side, 

And  battle  for  the  right. 

One  evening  Araki  drew  near 

A  hamlet  in  the  wood  ; 
The  people  were  in  deadly  fear, 

For  well  they  understood 
Their  mountain  god  would  take  that  day 
A  human  victim  for  his  prey; 

He  could  not  be  withstood. 


SONGS   OF   THE   KINGDOM.  97 

For  many  years,  by  lot,  they  told 

The  one  who's  time  had  come. 
This  year,  the  spirit  growing  bold, 

Picked  out  the  fairest  one, 
A  lovely  maiden,  just  eighteen, 
The  only  daughter,  it  would  seem, 

Of  one  who  had  no  son. 

In  spotless  white  the  girl  was  dressed, 

And  well  she  played  her  part; 
A  Buddhist  book  was  closely  pressed 

Against  her  throbbing  heart; 
A  tear  was  standing  in  her  eye; 
Too  young  was  she  to  wish  to  die; 

She  dreaded  Death's  cold  dart. 

The  people  said,  "  Your  life  you  give, 

Because  the  will  of  Fate 
So  orders.     By  the  gods  we  live ; 

We  must  propitiate 
The  spirits,  or  no  rain  will  fall. 
'Tis  better  one  should  die  for  all, 

Than  perish  small  and  great." 

An  ark  was  from  the  temple  brought 

To  bear  her  to  the  shrine ; 
Her  relatives,  in  saddest  thought, 

All  followed  in  a  line. 
Araki  this  procession  spied, 
And  quickly  to  the  place  he  hied, 

Arriving  just  in  time. 


98  THE    SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

He  said,  if  they  would  hear  his  plea. 

And  let  the  maiden  go, 
He  gladly  would  her  ransom  be. 

He  would  himself  bestow 
Within  the  ark  and  take  her  place, 
And  either  gods  or  devils  face, 

If  they  would  have  it  so. 

Araki,  then,  within  the  ark 
Was  placed  before  the  shrine. 

The  people  left  him  in  the  dark, 
And  slowly  passed  the  time. 

At  last  a  monster  did  appear, 

But  brave  Araki  knew  no  fear, 
For  fighting  was  his  line. 

The  monster  wounded,  fled  away, 
And  he  returned  no  more. 

Araki  waited  for  the  day, 

Then  saw  on  ground  and  floor 

A  trace  of  blood,  a  scarlet  line, 

Which  to  the  loft  above  the  shrine, 
Led  through  the  sacred  door. 

Araki  quickly  climbed,  and  then 

In  wonder  saw  the  lair, 
Where  some  wild  beast  had  made  its  den 

Above  the  house  of  prayer. 
He  soon  dispatched  it  with  his  blade, 
And  to  the  country  folk  displayed 

Its  carcass,  then  and  there. 


SONGS   OF   THE   KINGDOM.  99 

The  father,  full  of  gratitude, 

Because  he  saved  the  life 
Of  his  one  daughter,  thought  it  good 

To  make  the  girl  his  wife; 
But  Araki  would  not  be  tied 
To  any  wife ;  more  than  a  bride 

He  loved  a  wandering  life. 


THE  THREE  TRAVELERS. 


Long,  long  ago, 

Near  Kiyoto, 

Three  strangers  chanced  to  meet 
At  a  small  inn; 

They  hoped  within 
To  get  a  bit  to  eat, 
And  place  to  stay 

Till  the  next  day, 
And  rest  their  tired  feet. 

The  landlord  said, 

"  I  have  a  bed 
For  each,  and  viands  rare, 
If  you  agree 

To  stay  with  me, 
And  with  each  other  share 
One  chamber  small; 
For  that  is  all 
The  room  I  have  to  spare. 


100  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


The  strangers  three, 

In  company, 

Took  lodging  for  the  night. 
Soon  served  with  rice, 

And  all  things  nice, 
On  tables  small  and  light; 
Each,  o'er  his  tea, 

Gave  pedigree, 
To  prove  himself  all  right. 

When  they  had  done, 
The  oldest  one 
Produced  a  good-sized  can 
Of  something  sweet; 

"  This  is  a  treat," 
Said  he,  "  for  any  man. 
In  making  sweets 

My  village  beats 
All  cities  in  Japan." 

He  passed  it  round. 

The  others  found 
It  just  as  he  had  said. 
But  he  who  gave, 

Inclined  to  save, 
Proposed  they  go  to  bed. 
Once  more  the  tin 

Was  placed  within 
The  basket,  near  his  head. 


SONGS   OF   THE    KINGDOM.  IOI 


The  three  then  lay — 

It  was  their  way — 
On  mats  upon  the  floor ; 
But  soon  the  clown 

From  candy  town 
Set  up  an  awful  snore, 
Like  waves  that  dash 

And  roar  and  crash 
Upon  the  ocean  shore. 

Deprived  of  sleep, 

And  forced  to  keep 
Their  vigils  in  such  din, 
To  make  amends, 

These  quasi  friends 
Thought  of  the  hidden  tin 
Of  candy  rare, 

And  planned  to  share 
A  little  more  with  him. 

With  feet  stretched  out, 

One  felt  about, 
And  drew  the  basket  nigh ; 
Then  soon  within 

He  found  a  tin ; 
A  second  time  they  try 

The  sweets,  which  now — 

They  know  not  how — 
Seemed  changed  to  ashes  dry. 


102  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


They  coughed  and  sighed, 

And  tried  to  hide 
Their  plunder  out  of  sight. 
In  great  surprise 

Their  comrade's  eyes 
Were  opened  with  affright ; 
When  he  could  feel 

His  flint  and  steel, 
He  soon  produced  a  light. 

"Alas !"  he  cried, 

When  he  had  spied 
What  these  two  friends  had  done ; 
"  Upon  my  life, 

You  ate  my  wife, 
Whose  bones  to  ashes  one 
Short  week  ago 

Were  turned ;  and  so 
I  am,  indeed,  undone!" 


Ikkyu,  the  Buddhist  Sage. 


SONGS   OF  THE   KINGDOM.  103 


IKKYU,  THE  BUDDHIST  SAGE. 


Long,  long  ago,  in  Yamato, 
There  lived  a  Buddhist  sage, 

A  royal  monk,  who  had  the  spunk 
To  brave  a  nation's  rage; 

And  many  proverbs  to  Japan 

He  gave.     He  was  a  brainy  man, 
And  wise  for  any  age. 

Most  Buddhists  eat  not  any  meat. 

"  But  it  cannot  be  wrong 
To  eat  of  fish,  or  what  you  wish, 

And  meat  will  make  you  strong 
To  fight  the  foes  outside  and  in, 
And  conquer  devils,  flesh  and  sin." 

'Twas  thus  he  taught  the  throng. 

His  words  were  wise,  and  people  prize 
His  sayings  more  and  more; 

For  every  page  proves  that  this  sage 
Was  full  of  wisdom's  lore. 

Some  say  he  was  the  wisest  man 

That  ever  lived  since  time  began, 
Or  ever  mother  bore. 


IO4  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


A  JAPANESE  BELLE. 


I  wish  that  I  possessed  the  power 

To  fittingly  describe  a  flower 

Called  Hana  San,  but  then  an  hour 
Would  be  required  to  do  it  right. 

Her  cheeks  were  plump  and  tinged  with  rose; 

Her  lips  a  cherry  when  it  glows 
In  June.     Her  unobtrusive  nose 
Was   dainty,   shapely,   very  slight. 

Her  little  head  had  such  a  pose 

It  turned  the  heads  of  scores  of  beaux  ; 

Her  even  teeth  were  white  as  snows 

That  glisten   on   some  mountain  height. 
Through  raven  locks  her  forehead  shone 
In  shape  like  Fuji's  perfect  cone, 
Which  stands  in  beauty  quite  alone. 

Her  eyes  were  like  the  darkest  night. 

Her  obi,  tied  in  a  great  bow, 

Gave  beauty  to  her  kimono, 

Which  made  her  look  like  a  rainbow, 

Or  butterfly  so  bright  and  gay. 
Her  mind  —  ah,  never  mind  her  mind  — 
For  that  was  difficult  to  find. 
She  was  the  fairest  of  her  kind, 

A  sweet  and  lovely  musume. 


A    Japanese    Belle. 


SONGS   OF   THE   KINGDOM.  IO5 

Her  hands  were  like  a  doll's,  and  when 

She  played  upon  the  samisen, 

And  sang,  she  seemed  to  hold  the  men 

With  magic  power  beneath  her  sway. 
Her  voice  was  clear  and  soft  and  sweet; 
It  brought  the  lovers  to  her  feet, 
For  all  considered  it  a  treat 

To  listen  to  her  plaintive  lay. 

But  when  she  poured  a  cup  of  tea, 
Her  grace  was  wonderful  to  see, 
This  girl  beyond  the  western  sea,  — 

Ghana  San,  the  lovely  one, 
For,  like  the  blossom  in  her  hair, 
She  seemed  so  sweet  as  well  as  fair, 
With  charms  unequalled  anywhere 

In  any  land  beneath  the  sun. 


ADVENTURES    OF   HAYAKAWA. 

* 

One  of  Nippon's  ancient  heroes 
Was  a  man  named  Hayakawa, 
Signifying  rapid  river. 
He  resided  by  a  torrent 
That  came  rushing  from  the  mountains, 
Hurrying  to  reach  the  ocean. 

Here  one  Yamanaka  found  him 
Damming  back  the  mountain  current, 
To  assist  himself  in  fishing. 
So  he  called  him  to  his  service 
As  a  knight,  and  long  he  served  him, 
Doing  mighty  deeds  of  valor. 


IO6  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 


Once  our  hero  and  his  comrades, 
Ten  in  number,  were  enchanted 
By  the  singing  of  a  blind  man 
Whom  they  thought  a  simple  minstrel 
Wandering  about  the  country, 
Singing  for  his  food  and  lodging. 

As  they  sat  and  drank  their  sake, 
They  were  seized  with  awful  torture, 
And  they  knew  they  had  been  poisoned. 
Hayakawa  grasped  the  blind  man 
By  the  throat,  and  bade  him  answer 
If  he  were  the  guilty  party. 

"  Yes,  I  come  from  Morri's  Castle," 
Said  the  blind  man,  "  I  confess  it ;" 
Thinking  death  would  be  his  portion. 
"  You  may  go !"  said  Hayakawa, 
"  When  a  blind  man  kills  ten  heroes, 
He  deserves  both  life  and  fortune." 

All  the  band  save  Hayakawa, 

In  their  pain  drew  out  their  weapons, 

And  committed  harakiri ; 

But  our  hero,  in  his  madness, 

Sprang  into  the  ocean  billows, 

From  the  castle  by  the  seaside. 


SONGS   OF   THE   KINGDOM.  lO/ 


Here  the  king  of  ocean  met  him, 
Called  in  Japanese  Ryu-o ; 
And  he  said,  "  You  are  a  hero ; 
Come  with  me  unto  my  palace 
At  the  bottom  of  the  ocean; 
You  will  make  a  worthy  subject/' 

Three  years  after,  near  to  Kobe, 

When  some  fishermen  were  dragging 

A  huge  net,  you  may  imagine 

Their  surprise  upon  beholding 

In  its  folds  a  human  being, 

In  which  life  was  not  extinguished. 

Slowly  waking,  as  from  slumber, 
Yawning,  stretching  out  his  muscles, 
Opening  his  eyes,  the  stranger 
Said  that  he  was  Hayakawa ; 
And  he  asked  about  his  master 
Yamanaka,  and  his  fortune. 

Some  assert  that  Hayakawa 
Lived  among  the  fishing  people 
For  three  years,  and  then  invented 
This  strange  story  of  his  absence. 
One  thing  certain,  he  assisted 
Once  again  chief  Yamanaka. 


IO8  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

KANO,  THE  LIGHTNING  ARTIST. 


There  was  a  famous  artist 
Named  Kano  ;  and  his  school 

Was  founded  in  Mikado's  land; 
He  painted  not  by  rule. 

His  great,  great,  great  grandfather 
Once  painted  in  a  night 

A  forest  full  of  cedars. 
It  was  a  wondrous  sight. 

When  Kano  was  a  baby, 
And  cried,  as  babies  will, 

They  gave  him  ink  and  paper, 
And  Kano  soon  was  still. 

The  powerful  Masamune, 
Who  had  abundant  means, 

Engaged  this  noted  artist 

To  paint  for  him  three  screens. 

The  artist  took  a  horseshoe, 
And  on  one  screen  made  dabs, 

Then  added  legs,  et  cetera, 
And  lo  !  the  daubs  were  crabs. 

He  took  a  little  poodle, 

And  dipped  its  paws  in  pink, 

And  on  the  next  made  footprints, 
Ere  one  had  time  to  think  ; 


UNI 


SONGS   OF   THE    KINGDOM."^"  IOO, 

Then,  adding  stem  and  branches, 

A  tree,  the  hardy  plum, 
Forth  from  the  polished  surface, 

Like  magic  seemed  to  come. 

A  pullet  came  in  handy 

For  work  upon  a  third  ; 
Its  red  feet,  made  still  redder, 

Made  marks  not  like  a  bird  ; 

But  leaves  of  scarlet  maple 

Were  falling  in  a  stream; 
He  finished  in  a  jiffy 

A  lovely  autumn  scene. 

So  now  you  know  of  Kano, 

And  of  the  Kano  school  ; 
He  had  his  way  of  painting; 

But  Kano  was  no  fool. 


THE  MAGIC  FANS. 


There  was  a  man  in  old  Japan, 

Who,  once  upon  a  time, 
A  god  of  wood  adored,  which  stood 

Within  a  wayside  shrine. 

The  image  spurned  the  incense  burned, 

And  poorer  grew  each  day 
The  man.     Some  jeered,  but  still  he  feared 

To  throw  his  god  away. 


HO  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

He  went  one  clay,  in  his  dismay, 

To  ask  the  reason  why 
The  more  he  prayed,  his  god  delayed 

To  listen  to  his  cry. 

He  asked  for  gold,  and  wealth  untold; 

He  prayed  his  god  to  bless, 
And  give  him  health,  as  well  as  wealth, 

That  he  might  eat  and  dress. 

From  out  the  door,  there  stepped  before 

The  worshiper  a  man 
With  beard  like  snow,  and  eyes  that  glow, 

In  either  hand  a  fan. 

"  I've  heard  your  cry,"  he  said,  "  and  I 

Am  come  to  answer  you." 
He  placed  the  fans  in  the  man's  hands, 

And  told  him  what  to  do. 

"  This  fan  of  red,"  the  vision  said, 
"  Will  make  men's  noses  grow ; 

While  this  of  white,  if  used  aright, 
Will  bring  their  noses  low." 

"  When  fanned  with  white,  they  will  grow 
slight, 

And  even  disappear; 
But  fanned  with  red,  they'll  grow  instead 

To  be  a  sight  to  fear." 


SONGS   OF   THE   KINGDOM.  Ill 

Our  hero  said  his  thanks,  and  sped 

To  seek  the  busy  street; 
And  then  he  fanned,  on  every  hand, 

The  rich  he  chanced  to  meet. 

Some  in  the  throng  that  passed  along, 

Grew  noses  like  a  beam ; 
Some  grew  so  small,  that  none  at  all 

Were  able  to  be  seen. 

The  wealthy  vexed,  and  sore  perplexed 

At  what  had  come  to  pass, 
Abhorred  the  sight,  yet  day  and  night 

They  sought  the  looking-glass. 

The  man  with  fans  matured  his  plans, 

And  rented  him  a  place, 
Where  for  a  hoard  could  be  restored 

The  beauty  of  the  face. 

The  patients  soon,  in  darkened  room, 

By  magic  words  he  spoke, 
And  use  of  fans,  in  his  skilled  hands, 

Found  that  the  spell  was  broke. 

Our  hero  rolled  in  wealth  untold, 

And  dressed  in  raiment  fine, 
And  feasted  till  he  had  his  fill 

Of  viands  rare,  and  wine. 


H2  THE  SPIRIT  OF  JAPAN. 


"  SAYONARA." 


"  Sayonara,"  since  it  must  be, 
But  the  word  is  hard  to  say; 
"  Sayonara,"  since  it  must  be, 
We  will  hope  to  meet  some  day 
Where  the  people  never  say, 
"  Savonara." 


Sayonara. 


6} 


PART     FOURTH 


CONTENTS  OF  PART  FOURTH. 


ADDRESSES,  LETTERS,  ETC. 
Nature's  Teaching  About  God  ..............................   115 

Conclusion,  by  Rev.  Joseph  K.  Inazawa  .....................  126 

An  Appreciation,  by  Hon.  K.  Uyeno  .................  ,  .......   129 

His  Imperial  Japanese  Majesty's  Consul,  San  Fran 
cisco,  Cal. 

A  Tribute  to  Dr.  Sturge,  by  Rev.  M.  C.  Harris,  D.D  .........   131 

Superintendent   of   Japanese   Methodist  Mission   on 
Pacific  Coast. 

A  Letter.     From  Rev.  A.  J.  Brown,  D.D  ....................  133 

Secretary  of  Presbyterian  F.  M.  B.,  New  York. 
A  Plea.     To  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Sturge  ..........................   135 

In  the  name  of  the  Japanese,  by  Mrs.  M.  C.  Harris. 

A  Colleague's  Appreciation,  by  Rev.  I.  M.  Condit,  D.D  ......   136 

Missionary  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  to  the  Chinese 
in  California. 

Personal  Estimate  of  the  Author,  by  Rev.  F.  Matsunaga  .....  138 
Pastor,  Nihonbashi  Church.   Tokio,  Japan. 


<u  P     J  as 


PART    FOURTH 


SPECIMEN  ADDRESS 


By  E.  A.  STURGE. 


NATURE'S  TEACHINGS  ABOUT  GOD, 

OR 

THOUGHTS  FROM  THE  GRAND  CANYON  OF 
THE  YELLOWSTONE. 

* 

The  Yellowstone  National  Park  is  a  region  where 
beauty,  grandeur,  awfulness  and  ugliness  have  strangely 
congregated.  The  marvelous  coloring  of  the  Grand  Can 
yon  is  matchless,  and  is  suggestive  of  some  gigantic  paint 
shop  where  the  various  shades  have  been  tested. 

Just  where  the  river  seeks  to  hide 
Itself  by  plunging  o'er  the  falls, 

Is  where  the  great  Creator  tried 
His  colors  on  the'canyon  walls. 

The  colors  of  the  sunset  skies, 

The  tints  that  form  the  arching  bow, 

Are  there  in  all  their  choicest  dyes, 
Such  as  no  artist's  work  can  show. 


Il6  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

Like  strip  of  jade  with  streaks  of  foam, 
The  river  winds  far,  far  below 

'Mid  cliffs  of  buff  called  Yellowstone. 
The  water  comes  from  melting  snow 

That  decks  the  peaks.    Some  spires  arise 
From  out  the  canyon,  red  and  tall, 

Like  ringers,  pointing  to  the  skies, 
To  God,  the  Maker  of  it  all. 

By  the  side  of  the  writer  stood  a  Buddhist,  who,  gazing 
upon  this  enrapturing  scene,  exclaimed,  "  God  made  no 
mistake  when  He  made  this !"  The  writer  then  referred 
to  the  two  revelations  which  have  been  given  us  in  nature 
and  the  Bible.  The  gentleman  was  thoughtful  for  a  mo 
ment,  and  then  replied :  "  I  guess  they  both  lead  the  same 
way."  As  both  are  from  the  same  source,  they  must,  if 
rightly  understood,  lead  in  the  same  direction,  and  to  a 
truer  knowledge  of  God.  Next  to  the  Bible,  Nature  must 
be  our  greatest  teacher  of  theology.  "  The  heavens  de 
clare  the  glory  of  God ;  and  the  firmament  showeth  His 
handiwork.  Day  unto  day  uttereth  speech,  and  night 
unto  night  showeth  knowledge.  There  is  no  speech  nor 
language  where  their  voice  is  not  heard."  The  voice  of 
nature  everywhere  is  loud  in  the  praises  of  the  Creator. 

God  sweetly  speaks  to  those  who  pore 

O'er  nature's  open  book; 
His  voice  is  heard  in  waves  that  roar, 

And  in  the  laughing  brook. 


ADDRESSES,  LETTERS,  ETC.  1 17 

In  song  of  birds,  and  song  of  spheres, 

His  accents  may  be  heard ; 
He  speaks  to  those  possessing  ears, 

Both  through  His  works  and  word. 

From  nature  we  may  learn  much  of  Him  who  is  the 
author  of  it  all;  but  this  study  should  assist  us  in  our 
knowledge  of  God  rather  than  usurp  the  place  of  the  fuller 
revelation  given  in  the  written  Word.  One  may  stand  be 
fore  a  great  picture,  and  be  impressed  with  the  boldness 
of  the  outline,  the  delicacy  of  the  coloring,  the  naturalness 
of  the  production,  and  from  it  may  learn  something  of  the 
character  of  the  artist,  of  his  patience,  his  skill,  his  his 
torical  knowledge.  One  may  even  enter  into  the  very 
thoughts  of  the  Master,  who  put  something  of  Himself 
into  His  production.  Though  much  light  may  thus  be 
thrown  upon  his  character,  no  one  can  ever  fully  know  the 
nature  of  the  man  from  the  contemplation  of  his  works. 

We  may  stand  in  wonder  before  the  handiwork  of  the 
Great  Artist,  who  piled  up  the  mountain  ranges,  and 
scooped  out  the  valleys,  and  clothed  the  hills  with  beauty ; 
and  in  such  contemplation  can  hardly  fail  to  learn  some 
thing  of  the  Creator ;  and  yet  without  the  Bible  to  throw 
light  upon  what  we  see,  we  would  probably  arrive  at  false 
conclusions.  The  Japanese  may  be  called  nature  wor 
shipers.  This  has  made  them  the  most  artistic  people  in 
the  world;  but  at  the  same  time,  it  has  led  them  (as  it 
did  the  Greeks)  to  give  to  every  mountain,  valley  and 
waterfall  its  guardian  deity.  Fujiyama  is  more  than  a 


Il8  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

mountain  to  the  people  in  the  Mikado's  realm.  As  they 
gaze  upon  its  snowy  crest,  they  have  thoughts  too  deep 
for  utterance. 

One  would  naturally  think  that  the  regular  movements 
of  the  heavenly  bodies,  the  perfect  harmony  in  the  work 
ing  of  all  natural  laws,  would  lead  to  the  belief  in  an  over 
ruling  Providence ;  and  such  would  probably  be  the  re 
sult,  were  it  not  that  men,  possessing  no  written  revela 
tion,  are  usually  led  to  worship  the  creature  rather  than 
the  Creator.  It  seems  quite  natural  that  primitive  peoples, 
unacquainted  with  science,  should  think  of  the  earth  as 
flat,  and  the  various  forces  at  war  with  one  another. 

The  sun  and  moon  would  seem  at  times  to  work  in  har 
mony  in  causing  the  highest  tides ;  on  other  occasions  they 
would  appear  to  be  working  at  cross  purposes,  and  pull 
ing  in  opposite  directions.  There  would  appear  to  be  a 
conflict  between  light  and  darkness,  winter  and  spring, 
calm  and  storm,  health  and  disease.  They  would  see  in 
these  things  discord,  rather  than  harmony ;  and  would  be 
led  to  regard  each  force  as  a  god ;  some  helpful  to  them, 
and  others  injurious ;  some  to  be  worshiped,  and  others 
to  be  propitiated.  The  simple  children  of  nature,  who 
once  inhabited  every  portion  of  North  America,  saw  God 
in  everything;  in  the  sun  and  the  stars,  in  the  ocean  and 
in  the  storm,  but  in  some  unaccountable  way  they  were 
led  through  nature  to  worship  the  deity  as  the  one  Great 
Spirit.  The  aborigines  of  California,  though  among  the 
lowest  of  their  race,  had  some  beautiful  thoughts  of  God 
as  they  gazed  upon  His  handiwork. 


ADDRESSES,  LETTERS,  ETC.  119 

The  Indians  thought — it  .seems  not  strange — 
Mount  Shasta  the  Great  Spirit's  throne ; 

The  giant  of  Sierra's  range, 

Which  stands  in  grandeur  quite  alone. 

In  purple  and  in  ermine  dressed, 

And  ruby  tinted  in  the  glow 
Of  sunsets,  does  the  Spirit  rest 

Upon  its  pure  eternal  snow  ? 

Yes,  on  the  everlasting  hills, 

And  in  the  valleys,  everywhere, 
His  presence  all  creation  fills, 

And  wraps  us  like  the  limpid  air. 

If  the  heavens  declared  the  glory  of  God  to  the  psalmist, 
how  much  more  loudly  should  they  speak  to  us  (with  our 
fuller  knowledge  of  the  extent  of  the  universe)  of  the 
power  and  glory  of  the  Creator.  The  moon  circling 
around  the  earth;  the  earth  traveling  around  the  sun; 
the  sun  in  company  with  countless  others,  swinging 
around  some  unknown  center,  which  must  be  far  vaster 
in  magnitude  than  anything  of  which  we  have  knowledge, 
perhaps  the  very  throne  of  the  Infinite.  Who  can  con 
template  such  things  without  experiencing  an  overwhelm 
ing  sense  of  the  omnipotence  and  omnipresence  of  Jeho 
vah? 

When  we  look  upward  through  our  telescopes,  to  the 
most  distant  suns,  we  find  them  obeying  the  Creator's 
laws ;  and  when  we  glance  downward  through  our  micro 
scopes  into  a  drop  of  water,  rounded  in  obedience  to  the 


120  THE}   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

same  laws  that  rounded  the  planets,  we  find  this  tiny  globe 
teeming  with  infinitesimal  life,  for  which  the  Almighty 
has  provided  a  habitat  and  sustenance.  Verily,  the  entire 
universe  is  athrill  with  God. 

We  must  surely  conclude  from  our  study  of  nature, 
that  God  is  very  beautiful  in  character.  Beauty  must  be 
in  the  artist's  soul  before  it  can  be  transferred  to  the  can 
vas.  He  who  filled  the  universe  with  loveliness  must  be 
more  beautiful  than  anything  that  He  has  made.  The 
highest  beauty  is  always  coupled  with  strength.  This  is 
true  of  nature,  architecture  and  character.  There  is  a 
delicate  beauty  in  the  flower,  but  it  is  joined  with  weak 
ness  and  frailty,  and  soon  passes  away.  The  beauty  of  the 
human  form  and  face,  like  that  of  the  blossom,  soon  fades ; 
but  the  beauty  of  character  is  more  enduring  than  the 
mountains,  and  will  exist  when  what  are  called  the  ever 
lasting  hills  shall  have  crumbled  to  dust. 

As  we  gaze  upon  such  scenes  as  Yosemite,  or  the  Grand 
Canyon  of  the  Yellowstone,  we  are  compelled  to  cry  out 
with  the  psalmist,  "  Strength  and  beauty  are  in  His 
sanctuary." 

Judging  from  what  we  see  about  us,  we  are  forced  to 
the  conclusion  that  in  the  character  of  Him  who  designed 
and  executed  it  all,  there  is  the  highest  degree  of  strength 
and  beauty,  without  any  accompanying  weakness.  What 
has  nature  to  say  in  regard  to  the  patience  of  God?  A 
considerable  portion  of  the  Yellowstone  Park  presents  a 
picture  of  awfulness  and  ugliness,  rather  than  grandeur 
and  beauty.  There  is  an  immense  geyser,  with  its  whirl- 


ADDRESSES,  LETTERS,  ETC.  121 

ing  lake  of  mud,  that  seems  like  the  very  mouth  of  hell. 
There  are  fissures,  out  of  which  the  steam  comes  hissing 
with  deafening  roar.  There  are  hot  springs  which  have 
been  depositing  minerals,  layer  upon  layer,  millenium  after 
millenium,  until  they  have  formed  hills  which  might  prop 
erly  be  called  mountains.  There  is  no  better  place  for  the 
student  to  observe  God's  methods  of  working.  There  the 
Creator  is  still  busy,  putting  the  finishing  touches  to  the 
world.  It  would  be  unjust  to  judge  Jehovah  by  His  un 
finished  works.  Out  of  all  this  seeming  desolation  may 
finally  come  the  greatest  loveliness. 

In  the  Yellowstone  Park  there  are  regions,  I  ween, 

Quite  as  dreary  as  any  that  mortals  may  know ; 
There  are  odors  of  sulphur,  and  hisses  of  steam ; 

There  are  geysers  that  spout  from  the  regions  below ; 
There  are  basins  called  paint  pots  of  sulphurous  clay, 

Having  various  colors,  which  constantly  spit 
Like  volcanoes ;  these,  boiling  by  night  and  by  day, 

Slowly  build  up  their  craters ;  but,  like  to  the  pit, 
Or  Inferno  of  Dante  this  region  appears 

At  the  present.    This  place  where  the  colors  are  made 
May  in  time,  after  lapses  of  thousands  of  years, 

Be  possessed  of  the  beauty  which  now  is  displayed 
By  the  wonderful  Yellowstone  Canyon  so  gay, 

Which  was  once  such  a  factory,  where  shades  divine 
Were  prepared ;  but  the  Yellowstone  River  made  way 

By  degrees  through  formations  of  sulphur  and  lime  ; 
And  so  cutting  the  paint  pots,  the  colors  ran  down 

The  steep  sides  of  the  canyon  in  wonderful  dyes, — 
Mighty  splashes  and  streaks  of  red,  yellow  and  brown, 

In  some  place  like  rainbows,  dropped  down  from  the 
skies. 


122  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

Those  who  regard  the  creation  days  as  periods  of 
twenty-four  hours,  instead  of  millions  of  years,  lose  the 
valuable  lesson  which  nature  should  teach  us  of  the  won 
derful  patience  of  God,  Who  is  still  slowly  working,  mak 
ing  a  better  and  ever  better  world.  It  is  a  mystery  how 
any  one  can  study  nature,  and  fail  to  be  impressed  by  the 
wisdom  of  the  Creator.  How  marvelous  are  the  natural 
laws  by  which  He  governs  the  universe!  Not  one  of 
these  could  be  modified  in  the  slightest  degree  without 
being  followed  by  disaster.  How  wonderful  is  that  law 
by  which  the  earth  is  made  fruitful.  The  atmosphere  at 
a  given  temperature  absorbing  a  certain  amount  of  moist 
ure,  and  precipitating  the  same  in  refreshing  showers 
when  the  temperature  is  slightly  reduced;  the  continued 
process  of  purifying  the  air  by  means  of  vegetation ;  the 
ocean  currents,  which  bring  to  the  northern  shores  of 
Europe  and  America  the  warm  waters  of  the  tropics ;  the 
piling  up  of  the  loftiest  mountains,  like  the  Andes  and 
the  Himalayas  in  tropical  regions,  in  order  that  their  man 
tles  of  snow  may  continually  counteract,  to  some  extent, 
the  perpendicular  rays  of  the  torrid  sun;  the  alternation 
of  day  and  night;  the  position  of  oceans  and  deserts; — 
everything  subserving  some  useful  purpose  in  the  econ 
omy  of  Jehovah.  Time  will  not  permit  even  the  mention 
ing  of  those  natural  phenomena  which  everywhere  display 
the  wisdom  of  the  Creator. 

Something  of  the  gentleness  of  God  may  be  learned 
from  His  method  of  doing  things.  The  millions  of  tons 


ADDRESSES,  LETTERS,  ETC.  123 

of  water  required  for  the  productiveness  of  the  earth  are 
carried  thousands  of  miles,  and  distributed  without  any 
fuss  or  noise,  and  so  gently  as  not  to  injure  a  petal  of  the 
smallest  flower.  The  planets  go  speeding  on  their  way 
so  silently  that  no  natural  ear  is  keen  enough  to  detect  the 
song  of  the  universe.  The  goodness  and  love  of  God  are 
shown  in  His  providing  for  the  wants  of  all  His  creatures, 
giving  not  only  those  things  necessary  to  sustain  exist 
ence,  but  ministering  to  the  delight  of  every  sense  and 
filling  every  life  with  joy.  Even  in  the  struggle  for  ex 
istence,  His  goodness  may  be  seen,  as  in  this  way  He  lifts 
His  creatures  to  a  higher  condition  of  life. 

Though  we  may  learn  so  much  of  God  through  His 
works,  we  never  could  have  perfectly  understood  His 
nature  without  the  coming  to  earth  of  Jesus,  to  show  us 
the  Father. 

We  will  see  presently  that  Jesus  was  in  character  all 
that  nature  teaches  us  that  God  must  be. 

The  visible  mantle  of  God  we  see 

In  the  dome  of  the  sky  and  the  sweep  of  the  sea, 

And  the  clover  pied  field,  where  the  lark  and  the  bee 

Make  music  the  livelong  day  ; 
But  the  image  of  God  which  is  clouded  and  dim 
In  humanity,  glows  to  perfection  in  Him 
Who  shows  us  the  Father,  and  saves  us  from  sin, 

And  teaches  the  heavenly  way. 

We  visit  the  home  of  a  gentleman  whom  we  have  never 
seen.  We  are  shown  into  the  parlor  or  library,  and  while 


124  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

waiting  for  the  owner  of  the  mansion  to  appear,  we  look 
around  and  infer  his  opulence,  or  the  reverse  by  the  fur 
nishings  of  the  apartment ;  his  taste  in  art  by  the  pictures 
on  the  walls ;  his  knowledge  by  the  books  on  the  shelves. 

By  glancing  'round  a  person's  home, 

Much  may  be  learned  of  him  who  dwells 
Within  its  walls ;  for  every  tome 

Upon  the  shelves  a  story  tells 
Of  education.     Pictures  hung 

Upon  the  walls  at  least  infer 
His  taste  in  art ;  each  thing,  though  dumb. 

Has  power  to  speak  of  character. 
But  in  this  way  we  never  know 

The  owner ;  and,  indeed,  surprise 
Will  be  our  portion,  when  below 

He  comes,  and  looks  us  in  the  eyes, 
And  grasps  us  kindly  by  the  hand, 

And  friendly  words  between  us  flow ; 
'Tis  then  the  man  we  understand ; 

Before  we  guessed,  but  did  not  know. 

The  universe  is  our  Father's  house.  This  world  is  but 
one  of  its  rooms.  By  looking  around  us,  .we  may  learn 
much  of  Him  who  made  and  governs  all;  but  we  never 
could  have  fully  understood  what  God  is,  had  He  not 
come  down  to  earth  in  the  person  of  the  Christ,  and  dwelt 
with  men,  and  spoken  with  them  face  to  face. 

Though  nature  can  never  take  the  place  of  the  Bible, 
much  benefit  will  accrue  from  studying  the  two  revela 
tions  together.  If  Christ  is  really  divine,  we  must  find 


^nos* 


w'+arMtPr      ifcJ*      \  I 


ADDRESSES,  BETTERS,  ETC.  125 

in  His  character  all  those  attributes  (beauty,  wisdom, 
patience,  gentleness,  etc.)  which  nature  clearly  tells  us 
belong  to  God.  When  we  speak  of  the  beauty  of  Christ, 
we  refer,  of  course,  to  His  character.  His  features  must 
have  possessed  wondrous  beauty,  for  such  joy,  and  peace, 
and  wisdom  and  love  as  were  His  could  not  fail  in  mak 
ing  their  impression  upon  His  countenance.  The  great 
est  artists  have  been  unable  to  give  to  the  portraits  of  our 
Master  all  the  beauty  that  we  know  must  have  been  there. 
True  it  is,  that  His  physical  beauty  was  marred  for  our 
sake,  but  in  character  He  was  faultless,  and  altogether 
lovely,  the  chiefest  among  ten  thousand  times  ten  thou 
sand. 

As  to  His  wisdom,  even  His  enemies  testified  that 
"  Never  man  spake  like  this  man."  His  patience  was 
manifested  in  His  bearing  with  the  frailties  of  His  follow 
ers,  and  in  teaching  them  to  forgive,  not  seven  times  only, 
but  seventy  times  seven.  In  His  quiet  method  of  doing 
things,  and  in  His  gentleness,  He  fulfilled  the  prophecy 
which  said :  "  He  shall  not  strive  nor  cry ;  neither  shall 
any  man  hear  His  voice  in  the  streets.  A  bruised  reed 
shall  He  not  break  and  the  smoking  flax  shall  He  not 
quench."  Thus,  we  find  exemplified  in  the  character  of 
Jesus  all  that  nature  teaches  us  the  Father  must  be;  and 
in  the  handiwork  of  Him,  who,  with  the  Son  and  Holy 
Spirit,  created  all  things,  we  have  another  powerful  wit 
ness  to  the  divinity  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour. 


126  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

CONCLUSION. 

* 

No  other  nation  on  the  globe  is  so  much  inclined  to  be 
hero  worshipers,  and  idealists  as  the  Japanese.  They  of 
ten  deify  pre-eminent  persons  in  their  history. 

They  are,  therefore,  keen  critics  and  good  judges  upon 
the  subject.  The  Japanese  who  are  acquainted  with  our 
doctor  regard  him  as  an  ideal  Christian  gentleman  who 
exemplified  the  mind  of  Christ  symmetrically  and  con 
sistently. 

He  may  not  be  a  man  with  a  meteoric  career,  or  great 
popularity,  but  one  of  modest,  self-denial  and  eminent 
piety,  as  an  old  adage  says,  "A  most  excellent  person  for 
gets  his  own  renown." 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  a  great  lover  of  the  beau 
tiful,  friend  of  nature,  sympathizer  of  humanity,  and  a 
deep  student  of  the  Divine  Word. 

The  following  lines  of  mine  were  doubtless  inspired  by 
the  real  character  of  our  subject. 

CHRISTUKE  MOTIVES. 

Who  should  be  the  greater  hero? 
He  who  captures  cities  by  the  sword, 
Or  he  who  subdues  his  own  heart, 
And  lives  not  for  self  but  for  others? 
Such  is  of  heroes  the  mightiest, 
For  does  not  the  gentle  Master  say, 
"  The  meek  shall  inherit  the  earth  "  ? 
My  motto  here  would  be — 
"  King  over  self." 


ADDRESSES,  LETTERS,  ETC.  127 

The  king  is  a  public  servant ;  so  said  a  savant. 
He  serves  for  the  nation's  welfare. 
He  who  humbled  Himself  to  man's  estate, 
Who  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto, 
But  to  aid  humanity  in  all  its  woes, 
Him  alone!  the  noblest,  greatest,  best, 
Born  to  the  humblest,  yet  He  the  most  divine. 
My  motto  here  would  be — 
"  Servant  for  men." 

To  shine  in  the  light  of  God, 
As  the  sunflower  turns  to  the  sun, 
As  the  needle  obeys  the  Power  supreme ; 
Be  wise  like  the  serpent, 
And  harmless  as  the  dove ; 
Those  are  the  sweetest  in  heaven  above, 
Such  as  Israel  loved  of  God. 
Pray,  "Not  my  will,  but  Thine." 
My  motto  shall  be — 
"  Child  of  God." 

Among  his  friends  our  doctor  is  held  in  the  highest 
esteem.  The  Japanese  people  regard  him  as  a  Christlike 
leader,  and  to  his  students  he  is  an  ideal  teacher  and 
object  of  great  devotion.  All  of  our  young  people  who 
have  come  in  contact  with  our  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Sturge 
have  learned  to  love  and  revere  them  as  an  ideal  father 
and  mother.  Their  love  for  us  is  such  that  they  would 
be  glad  of  the  opportunity  of  guiding  many  hundreds  more 
of  our  young  men,  who  are  far  from  home,  into  the  fold 
of  Christ. 


128  THE:  SPIRIT  OF  JAPAN. 

Doctor's  ideal  of  education  is  to  place  good  and  noble 
examples  before  his  students  in  order  that  they  may  de 
velop  into  strong  Christian  characters. 

Though  his  noble  work  may  now  seem  somewhat  ob 
scure,  the  results  show  a  great  ingathering  of  souls  for 
the  kingdom  of  our  Master. 

More  than  three  hundred  young  people  from  the  Sun 
rise  Kingdom  during  the  years  that  are  past,  have  united 
with  our  Japanese  Presbyterian  Church  through  the  teach 
ing  and  influence  of  our  kind  missionaries  (I  mean  our 
Doctor  and  Mrs.  Sturge). 

Many  of  these  Christians  have  returned  to  their  home 
land  beyond  the  sea,  where  they  are  now  engaged  in 
working  for  our  glorious  Master  and  the  welfare  of  our 
beloved  country. 

For  fifteen  unbroken  years,  our  beloved  doctor  has  been 
my  esteemed  guardian,  admirable  teacher,  confidential 
friend  and  elder  brother  in  Christian  fellowship.  My  ad 
miration  and  affection  toward  our  Doctor  and  Mrs.  Sturge 
has  truly  increased  with  the  passing  years.  Though  I 
may  not  be  a  good  representative,  yet  I  am  one  of  the  best 
witnesses  of  their  faithful  efforts  and  untiring  labor  in 
the  name  of  the  Divine  Master,  and  for  the  sake  of  hu 
manity.  They  have  given  us  beautiful  pictures  of  their 
happy  home  life  and  set  before  us  many  Christlike  exam 
ples  during  these  years.  It  is  a  very  great  honor  and 
pleasure  to  us  to  be  authorized  by  the  committee  to  pub 
lish  some  selected  poems  and  addresses  of  our  beloved 


Rev.    H.   C.    Minton,    D.D.,   L.L.D.        Rev.   A.  J.    Brown,    D.D.        Hon.    K.    Uyeno. 
Rev.    M.    C.    Harris,    D.D.         Hon.   K.   Tosawa.         Rev.   I.   M.   Condit,   D.D. 


ADDRESSES,  LETTERS,  ETC.  1  29 

leader,  together  with  kind  expressions  of  distinguished 
friends  on  this  fifteenth  anniversary  of  their  missionary 
life  among  our  Japanese  people  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

JOSEPH  K.  INAZAWA. 
August  n,  ipoj. 


AN  APPRECIATION. 

* 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  and  venerable  name  among 
foreigners  connected  with  the  development  of  Japan  and 
her  recent  initiation  into  the  comity  of  world  powers  is 
that  of  Commodore  Perry.  The  story  of  his  arrival  in 
Japan  and  the  consequent  friendly  relations  which  have 
grown  up  between  his  country  and  the  nation,  whose  hos 
pitality  he  sought,  is  instructive  as  well  as  beautiful.  Due 
to  the  strong  efforts  of  this  great  American,  Japan,  then 
a  hermit  land  of  the  far  East,  was  compelled  to  open  up 
commercial  and  diplomatic  intercourse  with  the  western 
nations.  Our  country  has  made  wonderful  progress,  both 
intellectually  and  materially,  during  the.  last  two  score 
and  ten  years  ;  and  for  this  we  owe  much  to  the  friendly 
aid  and  co-operation  of  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
It  is  right,  therefore,  that  we  should  always  respect  and 
cherish  the  name  of  this  great  benefactor  to  our  country 
—  Commodore  Perry. 

But  we  should  remember,  at  the  same  time,  that  there 
were,  and  are  now,  many  other  Perrys,  who  have  given 


130  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

their  sincere  council  and  who  have  rendered  valuable  as 
sistance  in  effecting  the  progress  of  our  people,  both  at 
home  and  abroad.  Since  the  opening  of  friendly  rela 
tions  with  America,  our  people  have  been  immigrating  into 
this  vast  and  wonderful  country ;  and  we  are  to-day  nearly 
twenty  thousand  strong.  Many  of  our  pioneers  have  en 
countered  great  difficulties  and  perplexities.  Some  have 
left  behind  them  only  their  graves  to  narrate  the  tale  of 
their  careers,  and  all  have  come  with  the  feeling  that  they 
were  among  a  "  strange  people  and  under  strange  stars." 
But  as  we  often  see  beautiful  flowers  blooming  here  and 
there  among  the  briers  and  dried  thorns,  so  these  people 
have  found  on  this  stranger  soil  many  kind  hearts  and 
great  souls,  who  have  shown  them  consideration  and 
sympathy.  To  them  we  are  greatly  indebted  for  our  pros 
perity  on  this  coast  and  our  friendship  with  the  people 
here.  Among  these  kindly  Americans  Dr.  Sturge  stands 
very  prominent. 

Dr.  Sturge  has  lived  among  the  Japanese  on  this  coast 
for  nearly  twenty  years.  His  services  as  a  Christian  mis 
sionary,  as  a  friend,  and  as  a  reformer,  have  been  inval 
uable  to  our  people.  He  has  never  sought  any  public 
honor  or  remuneration  for  his  work.  Both  he  and  his 
wife  have  ever  acted  the  part  of  true  brother  and  sister  to 
the  Japanese,  whom  they  have  taken  under  their  guidance 
and  protection.  The  purity  of  their  purpose  and  their  un 
selfishness  have  won  for  them  the  deep  and  lasting  grati 
tude  of  the  Japanese  people. 


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ADDRESSES,  LETTERS,  ETC.  13! 

In  commemoration  of  this  faithful  work,  and  for  the 
purpose  of  honoring  their  benefactors  a  small  circle  of 
Japanese  have,  therefore,  collected  the  poems  and  verses 
composed  by  Dr.  Sturge,  with  the  intention  of  publishing 
them.  They  have  asked  me  to  add  a  few  dedicatory 
words,  stating  the  purpose  of  this  book,  which  I  most 
cheerfully  do ;  and  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  join  most  heart 
ily  both  in  my  public  and  private  capacity,  with  the  entire 
Japanese  community,  in  thanking  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Sturge  for 
their  long  and  patient  labor  among  our  people  on  this 

coast. 

KISABURO  UYENO, 

His  Imperial  Japanese  Majesty's  Consul. 
San  P  ran  cisco }  Cal. 

*  *  * 

A  TRIBUTE  TO  DR.  STURGE. 

* 

On  the  occasion  of  the  fifteenth  anniversary  of  the 
labors  of  my  friend  Dr.  Sturge,  I  join  the  hosts  of  his 
friends  in  testifying  my  unfeigned  appreciation  of  his 
character,  and  admiration  for  his  self-denying  service  to 
the  exiled  youth  of  Japan  in  California. 

We  have  been  colleagues  and  co-workers  all  these  years, 
and  during  this  time  there  has  never  been  a  shadow  of 
doubt  or  misunderstanding.  In  all  our  relations  he  has 
shown  himself  to  be  a  Christian  man  of  single  purpose, 
humble  spirit,  noble  ideals  and  utterly  free  from  all  tm- 


132  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

worthy  feelings.  He  has  rejoiced  and  sorrowed  with  me, 
and,  in  the  truest  sense,  proved  himself  to  be  a  friend 
without  partiality  and  without  fault. 

I  wish  to  bear  testimony  to  his  meritorious  labors.  He 
has  rendered  service  to  hundreds  of  ambitious,  hard 
working  students,  a  service  given  as  a  free-will  offering 
— expecting  nothing,  and  content  with  the  sense  of  duty 
done.  His  humility  of  soul  is  well-known  to  all  his 
pupils,  for  he  would  blush  to  find  himself  known  to  fame. 
Dr.  Sturge  is  a  man  of  attainments,  learned  in  medicine 
and  religious  and  general  literature,  with  a  keen  apprecia 
tion  of  the  higher  values  of  culture  and  character.  His 
personality,  rounded  and  symmetrical,  is  invested  with  a 
rare  charm,  which  inspires  love  and  admiration  in  all,  be 
cause  none  can  know  him  and  not  be  attracted  irresistibly 
to  him. 

It  is  the  painful  lot  of  the  Japanese  to  meet  many 
Americans  who  are  by  no  means  ideal  gentlemen,  and  it 
is,  therefore,  gratifying  that  in  the  person  of  our  beloved 
friend,  the  sons  of  Japan  may  see  an  American  Christian 
gentleman, — true  to  his  country  and  calling — and  at  the 
same  time  large  enough  in  heart  and  mind  to  love  and 
appreciate  all  men,  according  to  their  worth  and  unstint 
edly  give  his  life  for  their  well  being. 

In  this  tribute  I  would  include  Mrs.  Sturge,  who  has 
been  one  with  her  husband  in  rendering  this  beautiful 
service  in  Christ's  name.  In  her,  hundreds  of  pupils  have 
seen  the  ideal  wife  and  perfect  woman,  and  have  felt  the 


ADDRESSES,  LETTERS,  ETC.  133 

sympathetic  touch  of  her  hand  in  their  trials  and  struggles 
to  realize  their  aims  in  life. 

For  the  good  work  they  have  done  for  Japan,  our 
thanks  ascend  to  heaven,  and  we  join  with  all  who  know 
them  in  asking  that  life  and  strength  may  be  given  them 
for  many  future  years  of  fruitful  effort  in  behalf  of  the 

youth  of  the  Sunrise  Land. 

M.  C.  HARRIS. 
December  16,  1902. 


LETTER  FROM  REV.  A.  J.  BROWN,  D.D. 

* 

NEW  YORK,  October  31,  1902. 

Rev.  J.  K.  Inasawa,  121  Haight  St., 

San  Francisco,  California,  — 

MY  DEAR  MR.  INAZAWA  :  I  am  very  glad  to  learn  from 
your  letter  of  the  I9th  inst.  that  the  friends  of  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  E.  A.  Sturge  are  to  celebrate  the  fifteenth  anniver 
sary  of  their  missionary  life  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  in  New  York  wishes  to  ex 
tend  its  very  hearty  congratulations  to  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Sturge  on  that  auspicious  occasion.  We  hold  them  in 
high  regard  as  earnest,  devoted  servants  of  Christ  who 
have  proved  themselves  signally  useful  in  the  Master's 
service.  It  is  a  joy  to  us  to  know  that  so  many  of  the 
Japanese  who  are  in  our  country  come  under  the  influ 
ence  of  such  missionaries,  and  we  are  sure  that  the  re 
sults  will  endure. 


134  THE   SPIRIT   OF  JAPAN. 

Unfortunately,  our  biographical  data  regarding  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Sturge  are  not  as  full  as  we  could  desire,  for  they 
are  as  modest  as  they  are  faithful.  Dr.  Sturge  received 
his  professional  training  as  a  physician  in  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  taking  his  diploma  in  1880.  His  conse 
cration  to  Christ  led  him  to  offer  himself  to  our  Board 
for  Foreign  Missionary  service,  June  28,  1880.  The 
Board  gladly  commissioned  him  and  assigned  him  to  the 
Siam  Mission.  August  1st  of  that  year,  he  sailed  for  that 
distant  land,  followed  by  the  loving  prayers  of  the  Board 
and  of  many  relatives  and  friends. 

Their  missionary  life  in  Siam  lasted  only  half  a  decade, 
but  when  I  was  in  that  country  only  a  few  months  ago, 
I  found  that  many  very  lovingly  remembered  to  this  day 
the  consistent  life  and  Christian  influence  of  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Sturge.  Ill  health  compelled  them  to  return  to  America 
in  1885,  but  they  were  too  valuable  workers  to  be  lost,  and 
.so,  in  1886,  the  Board  had  pleasure  in  appointing  them  to 
the  charge  of  the  mission  work  among  the  Japanese  in 
California.  Their  labors  for  Christ  and  for  their  fellow- 
men  since  that  time  are  well  known. 

I  vividly  remember  the  evidences  I  found  during  my 
visit  in  San  Francisco  of  the  large  place  which  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Sturge  occupy  in  the  hearts  of  the  Japanese,  and  we 
earnestly  and  affectionately  pray  that  in  coming  years  the 
blessing  of  God  may  rest  in  even  more  abundant  measure 

upon  them. 

Cordially  yours, 

ARTHUR  J.  BROWN. 


ADDRESSES,  LETTERS,  ETC.  135 

A  PLEA. 

(To  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Sturge,  in  the  name  of  the  Japanese.) 

* 

Wind-blown  bells  of  far  pagodas 

Lure  you  to  an  alien  land, 
Where  the  skies  have  longer  summer 

Than  this  fiercer  northern  strand; 
Land  of  youthful  love  and  labor, 

Where  you  made  our  King  "  a  way/' 
Glad  forerunners  with  your  brothers, 

Of  the  Christ's  incoming  day. 

Fairer  fields  of  home  await  you, 

Toil  for  comrades  of  your  race ; 
Yet  we  pray  you  bide  and  bless  us, 

Be  our  own  a  little  space. 
Soon  the  perfect  years  of  heaven, 

With  their  endless  treasure  store, 
And  the  light  beyond  the  shadows, 

Shall  be  yours  forever  more. 

'Neath  the  white  brows  of  our  mountains, 

Where  the  white  waves  whisper  "Come", 
And  where  nightingales  are  singing 

To  the  fragrant-flowering  plum, — 
Aye,  from  all  our  sunward  islands, 

From  these  shores  you  love  so  well, 
Happy  hearts  shall  breathe  a  blessing, 

Grateful  lips  your  name  shall  tell. 
Bide,  then,  by  the  sunset  waters 

Till  immortal  dawns  arise, 
And  the  King  shall  bid  you  welcome 

To  the  glory  of  His  skies. 

— F.  B.  H.     (Mrs.  M.  C.  Harris.) 


136  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

A  COLLEAGUE'S  APPRECIATION. 

REV.   I.   M.   CONDJT,  D.D. 
* 

It  affords  me  much  pleasure  to  give  my  little  tribute 
of  high  esteem  to  Dr.  and  Mrs.  E.  A.  Sturge,  and  the 
noble  work  among  the  Japanese,  in  which  they  are  en 
gaged.  I  have  known  them  intimately  for  more  than 
ten  years.  During  all  this  time  we  have  worked  side  by 
side, — Dr.  Sturge  in  the  Japanese,  and  I  in  the  Chinese 
mission.  There  has  never  been  a  jar  between  us,  and  I 
do  not  see  how  one  could  arise  when  I  think  of  his  loving, 
gentle  spirit.  I  find  it  a  source  of  joy  to  look  back  over 
these  years,  and  think  of  the  pleasant  relations  which  have 
ever  existed  between  us,  and  the  mutual  help  we  have 
delighted  to  give  each  other  in  our  respective  departments 
of  work. 

In  addition  to  my  personal  feelings  of  high  esteem,  I 
take  great  pleasure  in  speaking  of  Dr.  Sturge's  faithful 
ness  and  efficiency  in  his  mission  work.  He  has  ever  had 
the  good  of  others  at  heart,  and  is  entirely  devoted  to  the 
welfare  of  the  Japanese  people.  His  first  love  was  for 
the  Siamese,  to  whom  he  gave  the  earlier  years  of  his  mis 
sionary  life.  But  his  second  love  and  marriage  to  the 
Japanese,  is  one  which  comes  with  maturer  experience 
and  riper  devotion  to  the  dear  Master's  cause.  Modest 
and  unassuming  in  his  nature,  he  is  not  the  one  to  herald 


ADDRESSES,  LETTERS,  ETC.  137 

his  own  labors,  and  yet  what  he  is  doing  in  the  sphere  of 
his  own  mission  among  the  Japanese  for  their  welfare,  is 
worthy  of  any  man's  life. 

No  one  could  be  more  faithful  to  duty,  or  wisely  in  ear 
nest  in  its  performance,  than  is  Dr.  Sturge.  I  have  tried 
sometimes  to  persuade  him  that  he  should  ease  down  a 
little  in  some  of  the  more  difficult  parts  of  his  work ;  but 
I  do  not  think,  judging  by  results,  that  my  advice  has  had 
much  weight.  He  is  ever  seeking  to  devise  and  carry 
out  fresh  plans  by  which  he  may  reach  more  of  the  peo 
ple,  and  make  his  work  more  fruitful  in  results. 

Dr.  Sturge  has  much  to  encourage  him.  Success  is  the 
standard  by  which  life  is  usually  measured,  and  his  work 
is  marked  by  a  successful  record.  The  increasing  num 
ber  of  Japanese  who  are  coming  has  enlarged  his  field, 
and  given  him  more  material  on  which  to  bestow  his 
labors.  He  is  continually  permitted  to  gather  in  fruit. 
The  readiness  of  the  Japanese  to  embrace  Christianity  has 
been  an  inspiration,  and  fruitful  source  of  good  results. 
Never,  I  believe,  has  a  communion  season  passed  without 
some  witnessing  for  Christ;  and  often  large  numbers  at 
a  time  have  made  their  profession  of  faith. 

It  makes  me  glad  to  see  how  much  the  good  doctor,  and 
the  wife  who  so  faithfully  labors  at  his  side,  are  appre 
ciated  by  the  Japanese.  They  know  their  worth,  and  find 
delight  at  all  times,  and  now  especially  on  this  anniver 
sary  occasion,  in  giving  expression  to  their  high  regard 
for  them. 


138  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

The  earnest  prayer  of  both  Mrs.  Condit  and  myself  is, 
that  their  bow  may  long  abide  in  strength,  and  that  our 
Japanese  friends  may  have  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Sturge  to  labor 
among  them  for  many  good  years  to  come. 


PERSONAL  ESTIMATE  OF  DR.  STURGE. 

BY  REV.  FUMIO  MATSUNAGA,  TOKIO,  JAPAN. 
(Translation.) 


The  savant  of  Concord,  in  praising  the  sage  of  Port 
land,  once  said,  "  He  possessed  a  spirit  of  beauty."  Now, 
to  Dr.  Sturge,  saint  of  Golden  Gate  Bay,  and  spiritual 
knight  of  the  twentieth  century,  a  true  friend  of  the  peo 
ple  of  the  Cherry  Blossom  Kingdom,  I  will  offer  the  same 
praise  which  Emerson  tendered  to  Longfellow,  as  a 
wreath  of  heavenly  honor. 

Dr.  Sturge  (as  reflected  in  my  eyes)  is,  indeed,  a  model 
Christian  gentleman,  possessing  much  beauty  of  char 
acter,  with  a  spirit  of  sincerity,  modesty  of  action,  life  of 
simplicity,  and  above  all,  staunch  faith.  To  many  a  Japan 
ese  young  man,  a  stranger  in  a  foreign  land,  forlorn,  and 
suffering  with  loneliness,  struggling  with  dreadful  temp 
tations,  hard  work  and  unceasing  study,  in  the  city  of  the 
seven  hills,  he  has  been  as  a  good  father,  kind  teacher,  and 
true  friend  in  order  to  encourage,  comfort,  advise  and 
educate  them. 


New   Presbyterian  Japanese   Mission    Home,  Watsonville,   Cal. 
Japanese  Presbyterian   Mission  and  Y.   M.  C.  A., 
616  S.  Los  Angeles  St.,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. 


ADDRESSES,  LETTERS,  ETC.  139 

His  good  nature  and  beautiful  character,  fair  opinion, 
cordial  and  sincere  friendship,  chivalric  spirit,  sacrificial 
deeds,  have  caused  admiration  and  reverence  in  the  minds 
of  our  Japanese  young  men. 

He  spares  nothing  for  the  exaltation  of  Christ  and  the 
elevation  and  welfare  of  our  Japanese  people. 

This  self-denial  and  magnanimity  reminds  us  that 
though  an  American  gentleman  he  resembles  a  Japanese 
knight  of  the  medieval  age. 

Being  a  citizen  of  America,  where  sometimes  utilitarian 
power  and  the  force  of  the  almighty  dollar  prevails,  yet 
he  often  has  told  us  of  his  admiration  for  that  majestic 
Mount  Fuji,  capped  with  everlasting  snow,  and  said  of 
that  sovereign  peak  which  pierces  the  blue  sky  of  the  far 
East,  "  Is  it  not  representative  and  characteristic  of  the 
sublime  esthetic  spirit  of  your  Japanese  people?" 

Amongst  the  decorative  articles  which  particularly  at 
tracted  our  attention  in  his  reception  room,  where  he  al 
ways  cordially  welcomes  our  Japanese  people,  is  a  Japan 
ese  sword,  symbolical  of  the  spirit  of  Yamato  Knighthood, 
by  which  we  can  readily  perceive  the  personal  taste  of  the 
host. 

I  once  presented  him  a  copy  of  "  Bushido  "  ( Knight 
hood)  or  "  Soul  of  Japan,"  by  Dr.  Inazo  Nitobe,  Japan. 
In  return,  he  wrote  me  a  letter  and  mentioned  that*  the 
spirit  of  Japanese  Knighthood  in  many  respects  corre 
sponded  to  that  of  the  apostle  Paul. 


140  THE   SPIRIT   OF   JAPAN. 

If  Christianity  really  conforms  to  the  spirit  of  Japanese 
Knighthood,  doubtless  Christianity  in  Japan  might  equal 
or  excel  that  of  the  Occident  in  the  Spirit  of  Christ. 

The  doctor  has  a  profound  interest  in  our  country  and 
people,  and  is  a  true  friend  of  the  Japanese  nation. 

He  is  more  a  man  of  deeds  than  of  words.  He  is  an 
illustrative  preacher  of  pure  Gospel  truth,  with  a  simple, 
clear  and  elegant  expression.  He  appears  more  like  a 
poet  than  a  philosopher.  Though  not  a  professional,  he 
really  has  poetry  innate  in  his  being,  and  his  poetical  ex 
pressions  are  full  of  sublime  and  spiritual  savor. 

He  is  truly  a  minister,  but  not  one  who  has  obtained 
ordination  by  an  ecclesiastical  order.  He  is  not  a  Japan 
ese  Knight,  though  possessed  with  the  spirit  of  a  Knight. 

When  he  was  moved  by  his  unbounded  and  unfathom 
able  love  of  Christ  he  laid  aside  his  medical  profession 
for  the  welfare  of  our  people,  and  by  bearing  the  cross  he 
unfolds  the  truths  of  Christ  through  his  sincerity  and 
sympathy.  Whenever  we  think  of  his  constant  loyalty 
we  always  receive  inspiration  from  above. 

™* 


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